Nightmare at the rehab centre

Children of Antonio (inset), who died at a sober-living home in Phoenix, playing basketball with friends in Bylas, Arizona. Arizona spent as much as US$1bil on addiction treatment for Native Americans, in which hundreds of rehab centres provided nonexistent addiction treatment to thousands of vulnerable Native Americans. — ©2023 The New York Times Company

THE white vans were the first thing people noticed.

They began popping up around tribal reservations in the US southwest a few years ago, trolling through alleys and parking lots on a hunt for new business. They approached anyone who looked homeless or intoxicated with an alluring pitch: Get in, and we’ll give you shelter, sobriety and a better life.