Melissa Roberts

Melissa Roberts joined the group in 2024 as a lived experience whānau member, connected through the Whānau Advisors Network Aotearoa. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the addiction field, shaped by both her professional background and her lived and living experience as a family member affected by and supporting loved ones through addiction. Her work is guided by a deep commitment to elevating the voices and experiences of families and whānau, ensuring their realities are seen, valued, and embedded within the systems and services that affect them.

Melissa was trained as a counsellor and has been in a variety of clinical roles including clinical supervisor, and in 2019 became the Family Advisor with CADS Auckland where she could combine her lived experience and clinical experience. She also contributes to a range of advisory groups and initiatives at local, regional, and national levels—advocating for system change that strengthens whānau inclusion, compassion, and recovery-focused practice across the addiction sector.

Her mahi centres on creating spaces where the real stories and voices of lived and living experience are heard and respected, ensuring that families and whānau are not only included but play a meaningful role in shaping service design and delivery. Melissa continues to champion hope, connection, and dignity for all those affected by addiction, drawing on both personal and professional experience to influence more equitable, inclusive, and responsive systems of care across Aotearoa