Manor Family Center gets a new playground

Last Saturday, more than 250 volunteers from KaBOOM! , Kraft Foods and New York Academy of Medicine, in addition to volunteers from local universities and community organizations, joined Odyssey House staff and clients to build a new playground at the Manor Family Center.

New York's First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson kicked off the build with some inspiring words about the importance of play. Watch this short video to see what she had to say and to get a glimpse of what the day was like.

Here's a preview of photos of the day's activities. More will be posted on our Flickr page soon.

NY First Lady Michelle Paterson & Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provet.

Mixing cement for installation.

Installing one of the slides.

Painting the mural.

Thank you to our volunteers for your hard work!

Refreshing our visual identity

A few months ago, Odyssey House began working with premier branding company Siegel+Gale to explore new ways to communicate our unique offerings in a fresh and engaging way. The result is a new logo in five brilliant colors, reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of people and services Odyssey House encompasses. Take a look at this short video to see what the new Odyssey House logo is all about, and let us know what you think of our new look.

Building a peer support system for people in early recovery

Odyssey House has been awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to fund enhanced services for individuals and families in recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders. The new program, called the Odyssey House Recovery Oriented Care System (OHROCS), will deliver recovery support services using the evidence-based Therapeutic Community peer mentoring model that includes coaching, personal recovery plans, peer-to-peer support groups and incentives.

Dr. Peter Provet, president of Odyssey House, said, "A peer support system that builds on techniques individuals learn in treatment offers an exciting opportunity to extend the reach of recovery services to where people live and work."

To learn more about OHROCS, read the press release here.

Run for Your Life photos & video now online

Check our our slideshow of photos from the 5th Annual Run for Your Life and let us know what you think. If you have pictures of your own that you'd like to share, post them to our Facebook page or send them to info@odysseyhouseinc.org.



Watch a video of Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provet and OASAS Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo kicking off the 5K race.

Teens continue their theater training

The Odyssey House Theatre Project (OHTP), following their debut of "When You Shake the Tree" at Theatre Row, picked up again this summer for a six week workshop series. Each week, Odyssey House teens, including some clients new to the project, continued studying the craft of acting and writing through a rigorous three-hour immersion class, giving OHTP the opportunity to build upon their initial success at Theatre Row while cultivating future talent for next year's project.

In support of this summer series, OHTP attended several productions, including an innovative staging of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" by the Hudson Warehouse in Riverside Park. Artistic director Nicholas Martin Smith set the play in present day Afghanistan, illuminating the traditional conflict in the story amidst the back drop of America's presence on foreign soil, and in the process demonstrating how a play written in the 16th century could be relevant today. After the performance, producer Susane Lee, Nicholas Martin Smith and the entire cast hosted a private Q&A for the OHTP.


Hudson Warehouse's production of Romeo and Juliet

And if you missed the performance of "When You Shake the Tree," check out these clips on the OHTP YouTube channel.

And the CASAC-T of the Year award goes to...

Jeremy King, clinical information system coordinator at Odyssey House! Jeremy was one of five recipients of New York's annual addiction professionals awards. The awards are given by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) to individuals "whose work prevents substance abuse and offers the hope of recovery to the 2.5 million New Yorkers suffering from drug, alcohol or gambling addiction."

OASAS Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo presented the award to Jeremy at the Run for Your Life event on September 25th, praising him for his contributions to quality improvement projects and tobacc0-free initiatives, and for becoming a role model and mentor to clients training for the NYC marathon in the Run for Your Life program.

Accepting the award, Jeremy said, "I would like to thank Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo for the recognition today as well as the leadership of Odyssey House - including Dr. Peter Provet, John Tavolacci and Jeff Savoy - for their innovative spirit and progressive mindset. Most importantly, though, I want to thank the Odyssey House clients for providing me with the inspiration for my continued success in this field. It is your collective determination, strength, and commitment to the recovery process that makes my work meaningful and enjoyable."

Please join us in congratulating Jeremy on his distinguished award!