Run for Your Life celebrates 4th successful year

Our 4th Annual Run for Your Life event was held last Saturday, September 26th in celebration of National Recovery Month.

Once again, we had an excellent day - more than 1,000 people attended, including clients from ten other treatment agencies as well as representatives from ASAP and OASAS. WNBC News showed footage from the race on their 6 pm broadcast; check it out below!

Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers and participants who made our race such a success. Check back soon to see photos of this great event!

Odyssey House rallies for recovery!

On September 12th, nearly 200 Odyssey House staff members and clients attended the A&E Recovery Rally. They joined more than 10,000 individuals and families in recovery and treatment programs and advocates from all fifty states for a rally at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, followed by a symbolic walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza.

The rally included speakers such as R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, commissioner of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS); and New York State Governor David Paterson.

The Recovery Rally highlights the second year of the The Recovery Project, a multi-faceted, multi-year initiative led by A&E Network to raise awareness that addiction is a treatable disease and recovery is possible.

Odyssey House resident wins at the Recovery Fine Arts Festival

Harbor resident Miguel F.’s painting, “Friends,” was selected as the winner of the visual arts/acrylic category of the Sixth Annual New York State Recovery Fine Arts Festival. His painting, along with the other submissions, will be on display during the month of September at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY.



The festival is sponsored by OASAS in conjunction with the 2009 National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. The New York State Recovery Fine Arts Festival showcases the achievements of those in recovery through artistic expression and celebrates the healing benefits of recovery for individuals, families and communities.

LaQuanda's second chance

LaQuanda Edgefield, a resident at the Odyssey House Family Re-Entry program, was chosen by OASAS to share her story of recovery as part of the Your Story Matters campaign. Here is an excerpt:

I came walking through the doors of recovery sick, suffering, tired, and pregnant. It was time for me to put down the drugs, settle down and have a healthy baby. I needed long-term treatment with a lot of guidance, patience and understanding. I can definitely say "Thank You" to Odyssey House for giving me exactly that - even when I didn't want it.

Read the rest of her inspiring story here.

Ms. Edgefield is one of the 12 individuals represented in this year’s campaign spotlight stories. As thanks for her participation, OASAS Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo presented her with a silver recovery “badge of honor” at the Pathways to Recovery Forum last week.

OASAS Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo and LaQuanda Edgefield.

The Your Story Matters campaign, now in its second year, encourages New Yorkers to share their stories of recovery in an effort to break the cycle of addiction, eliminate stigma and promote lives of sobriety and wellness.

Register for Run for Your Life!

Please join Odyssey House in supporting men, women and children in recovery at our 4th Annual Run for Your Life 5K Fun Run/2-Mile Walk, to be held on Saturday, September 26th at Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island. This year’s race will have some exciting new activities, like the New York Knicks Groove Truck, featuring giveaways, basketball hoops, plasma screens and videogame consoles!

Online registration is now open on our website. But don’t just register. Ask your family, friends and coworkers to join you in supporting this important event.

We hope to see you there!