The Summer 2014 newsletter is now online

The Summer 2014 edition of Odyssey House News is now available! Read about our supportive housing openings, the latest art show, new grants, and more. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments or on our Facebook wall. If you'd like to receive a copy in the mail, please email your contact information to info(at)odysseyhouseinc.org.

Save the date for Run for Your Life 2014!

Mark your calendar! The 9th Annual Run for Your Life 5K Run & Recovery Walk will be held on Saturday, September 20th. Join us at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island for music, entertainment, children’s activities and more in commemoration of National Recovery Month! The fun begins at 9 am with children’s races. Online registration will open in July.

Preventing heroin overdoses

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is spearheading an effort to equip more law enforcement officers with the heroin antidote Narcan. It takes just three minutes to revive a person overdosing on heroin or prescription pain medication by pushing the drug out of their system.

Mary Callahan, senior manager, director of Odyssey House Outpatient Services, was featured in a News 12 segment about the initiative. "By doing this, they're saving an immeasurable amount of people from overdose," she said.

Treatment and housing

As treatment programs evolve to support individuals within their communities, Odyssey House is developing housing and outpatient services that complement and extend the efficacy of residential treatment. In the Summer 2014 issue of Behavioral Health News, Odyssey House President & CEO Peter Provet, Ph.D. and Janice Slaughter, Director of Mental Health & Housing Services, explain how we're planning for the future. Click here to download the article (pdf).

Odyssey House opens second supportive housing program in the Bronx

More than 100 community leaders, government partners, Odyssey House board members, staff and supporters gathered in the Bronx on April 24th for the Tinton Avenue ribbon cutting ceremony. Tinton Avenue is our second supportive housing program to open in this month.

The event featured tenant-led tours of the buildings and speeches by Moira Tashjian of the NYS Office of Mental Health and Cynthia Stuart of the SupportiveHousing Network of New York. In addition, Adrienne F., a tenant, spoke of her experience being homeless and how having a home has improved her life:  “When you’re in a shelter, you’re not living – you’re merely existing. Now I have a chance at being more self-sufficient and reaching my goals. I can also think more clearly and take better care of myself.”

Photo caption: The architects, contractors, consultants, funders, and Odyssey House management team responsible for the Tinton Avenue development celebrate the official opening. From left, Nick Lettire, Lettire Construction; Joe Olive, Jr., Olive Branch Consulting; Caren Abate and James Lupoli, NYS Office of Mental Health; Tina Mitchell, Odyssey House project manager; Moira Tashjian and Budd Isaacson, NYS Office of Mental Health; Peter Provet, Ph.D., Odyssey House president and chief executive officer; Durga Vallabhaneni, Odyssey House chief financial and administrative officer; Kevin Hoffman, The Richman Group; Amy Larovere and Thomas Wong, A. Larovere Consulting; Akiko Kyei-Aboagye and David Hirsch, Urban Architectural Initiatives.