Student Filmmakers Tackle Teen Drug Abuse

Odyssey House will work with three state agencies to pro-vide treatment services in this innovative joint agency effort tocreate a model for future prison rehabilitation and best practicesin breaking the cycle of recidivism among chemically dependentparolees. Joining Odyssey House in this effort is the: Office ofAlcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Departmentof Correctional Services (DOCS), and Division of Parole (DOP).

The Technical Violator Parole Diversion Program (TVPDP)will be available to men released from prison who are under pa-role or post-release supervision within New York City. TVPDPis designed to provide intensive services to parole detainees withthe aim of returning them to their communities and engagingthem in further addiction treatment. Each detainee will receivea full evaluation for treatment and an individual treatment planthat will be developed to address the specific reasons an offend-er violated parole.

Odyssey House president, Dr. Peter Provet, said it was “anhonor to be chosen to run this innovative program targeting an

Saving lives, rebuilding families, restoring communities Fall 2008

Inside this issue:Girls Program Celebrates a Sweet 16 p. 2

Run for Your Life 5kCelebrates Third Successful Year p. 4 & 5

Young Residents in Recovery Reach Educational Goals p. 6

Foundation Funds DramaCurriculum p. 7

www.odysseyhouseinc.org

New Parolee Program Aims to Break Barriers to Recovery

Run for Your Life 2008

Celebrating recovery month at our third annual race! Seepages 4 and 5 for full coverage.Continued on page 3

Odyssey House has been chosen to run New York’sfirst collaborative treatment program for chemicallydependent parolees. The new 30-day program willserve up to 1,200 parolees a year at the recently renovated Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility in Upper Manhattan.

To help counter misperceptions amongteens that marijuana is a benign drug,adolescents in residential treatment atthe Odyssey House Teen Leadership Center have produced a series of originalshort films that take a hard-hitting lookat the risky behaviors and harmful effects drug usage can have on youngpeople’s lives.

The films were produced as part of a work-shop funded with a grant from the Citi Em-ployee Community Fund. The goal of theproject was to help engage teens in the treat-ment process and encourage them to explore

the various ways drugs have impacted theirlives. The youngsters learned key filmmakingskills including creating a script, camera tech-niques and editing.

While making the films, the students inter-viewed their peers, ElderCare residents andpeople on the streets to present a comprehen-sive portrait of the devastating effects of drugabuse. They also researched the latest reportson the physical, emotional and social conse-quences of long-term drug use and were con-cerned to learn that marijuana can interferewith normal brain development.

Continued on page 3

Page 2 Odyssey House news

For many teenage girls, a Sweet 16 party is a much an-ticipated rite of passage to plan and share with familyand friends. But for teens with substance abuse prob-lems, while parties are often a source of family conflictand an occasion for high risk behavior, they also presentcounseling staff with an opportunity to reinforce treat-ment goals and techniques.

This summer, staff at the Odyssey House Lafayette AvenueCenter were presented with just such an opportunity when oneof the residents, Jasmine, announced that what she wanted morethan anything else was a Sweet 16 party.

But while planning the party, the counseling staff ran intodifficulty obtaining enough dresses for all 16 girls.

That’s where Tina Ciampa, project manager at OdysseyHouse, came in. As she listened to staff describe the problem,Ms. Ciampa realized she could help. She posted a request for do-nations of gently used bridesmaid dresses on a forum called “LIWeddings.” The response was overwhelming – she received near-ly one hundred dresses, as well as shoes and other accessories.

For Jasmine, it was a dream come true. “I didn’t have the bestattitude when I started treatment. But when I saw how much every-

one cared for me, it really turned things around. Now I’m more ma-ture, and I’m thankful for Odyssey House.”

More than 50 guests participated in the Sweet 16, which fea-tured a traditional ceremonial dance, residents’ families, guestspeakers from local community organizations, and dancers fromthe Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance.

In addition to teaching the teen girls how to behave respon-sibly at a party, the preparations were also extended to includea number of adolescent boys in treatment at the Odyssey HouseTeen Leadership Center who attended the party as escorts.

As for Jasmine, she says she’ll never forget her party.

Girls Program Celebrates a Sweet 16

Jasmine, center, with young residents from Odyssey House adolescent programs.

Kristina Sellers, an alumna ofOdyssey House’s Lafayette Avenue program, was one of tenrecipients of a commemorativeBadge of Honor from New YorkState’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services(OASAS). The award was present-ed at the state’s first-ever Recov-ery Conference in September.

Ms. Sellers received the Badge ofHonor for contributing her story toOASAS’s new campaign, “Real Peo-ple: Real Stories,” which highlightstwelve inspiring stories of recovery

from alcohol, drug or gambling ad-diction.

The goal of the campaign is toreduce the stigma of addiction andoffer hope to New Yorkers in recov-ery. The stories will be posted on theOASAS website and stored in asearchable “Recovery Stories Bank.”Since completing the program lastyear, Ms. Sellers, 22, works full-timefor an employee assistance programand recently finished her first year ofcollege at John Jay College of Crim-inal Justice, where she is studyingcriminal justice.

Odyssey House Alum Receives “Badge of Honor”

Kristina Sellers with Janice Glenn Slaughter, director of community housing, at New YorkState’s Recovery Conference.

Autumn is a fun-filled time of the yearfor children who live at Odyssey HouseFamily Centers of Excellence programs.Recently, the children and their parentshad the opportunity to visit a workingfarm and on Halloween, 100 childrenranging in age from infants to school ageenjoyed a costume party at the ManorFamily Center in East Harlem.

On Thanksgiving, families in treat-ment will gather for a “Family Feast.”Adriane Armstrong, director of Children’sServices, said this time of year is especiallydifficult for struggling families. “Everyholiday is an opportunity for us to createhappy memories for the children. AtThanksgiving, we prepare the children forthis important day by focusing our activi-ties on sharing and giving back.”

Children’s Services Celebrates Autumn

Fall 2008 Page 3

at-risk population of chemical abuserswho, without such intervention services,are in danger of returning to the criminaljustice system as repeat offenders.

“Odyssey House,” he continued,“has a track record of working with awide range of drug-abusing individuals incommunity-based and institutional set-tings, and of collaborating closely withseveral state and city agencies in ensuringvulnerable individuals return to theircommunities as productive, drug-free cit-izens.”

Starting this fall, Odyssey House pro-fessional counseling staff will providegroup and individual therapy, vocationalrehabilitation and life skills training, re-lapse prevention, family integration, and

anger management. The intensive treat-ment program will run seven days a week.

Family involvementEdgecombe Residential Treatment Fa-

cility’s accessibility by public transporta-tion and its central location in UpperManhattan makes it easier for familymembers to visit program participants – acrucial component of parolees’ supportsystems.

To be eligible for TVPDP, a paroleemust have a technical violation of druguse with no pending criminal charges.Participation is based on a contract be-tween the parolee and DOP. Individualswith significant medical or mental prob-lems, or those with histories of sex of-fenses, will be excluded.

Program Targets Repeat Offenders

One of the students interviewed for a film focusing on life intreatment described an experience common to teens with sub-stance abuse problems: “I never thought I would end up intreatment. I come from a good family. When I was in junior highschool, I was getting 90s and 80s, and then I started hanging outwith negative people, started using drugs, started smoking ciga-rettes and then marijuana. After that, I just kept messing upeverything around me.”

The workshop was enthusiastically received by the studentsand achieved its overarching goal of encouraging teens to stayand engage in treatment (of the teens that participated in theworkshop, 87 percent completed the program, compared withthe overall adolescent completion rate of 51 percent).

The films are available on the Odyssey House website atwww.odysseyhouseinc.org and on our new YouTube channel,OdysseyHouseNY. Teenage girls in residential treatment at the

Lafayette Avenue center will have the opportunity to participatein the workshop later this year.

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Stills from Wish, a short film by Rogelio M., depicting the risky behaviors and negative consequences associated with drug use.

Holiday Greetingsfrom Odyssey House

Give to the “Friends of Odyssey House”

online at odysseyhouseinc.orgor contact us at:

Odyssey Foundation95 Pine St, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10005

(212)361-1600

Marijuana Leading Drug of Abuse for TeensWhile overall drug use by American teenagers has declined

slightly in the last several years, marijuana and prescriptiondrug abuse have not. According to the 2007 Monitoring theFuture survey, at least 40 percent of high school seniors re-ported using marijuana at least once in their lifetimes. In ad-dition, the national Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse(CASA) reported that daily marijuana use among teens tripledbetween 1992 and 1999, and has not declined since then.

For treatment centers, this has meant a 200 percent in-crease in the number of teens in trouble because of marijuanaabuse, a figure in keeping with Odyssey House, where 98 per-cent of teens cite marijuana as their drug of choice.

Helps Teens in Treatment Tell Their Stories

Page 4 Odyssey House news

At Odyssey House, nothing says ‘celebrating recovery’better than families getting together to support lovedones who, through hard work and commitment, havechanged their lives. And on a Sunday morning in lateSeptember, hundreds of men, women and childrenturned out to show just how much they value recoveryand the organizations that support it.

For the third year in a row, people from all walks of life puton their sneakers, braved the threat of rain, and pounded thepavements on Randall’s Island in East Harlem. This year’s “Runfor Your Life” race marked the culmination in New York Cityof a month-long series of events that recognize and celebratepeople in recovery.

For Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo, of the Office of Al-coholism and Substance Abuse Services, who helped emcee therace day activities, the event was another valuable opportunityto congratulate New Yorkers in recovery and acknowledge thecommitment – and sacrifices – of family members.

“We know,” CommissionerCarpenter-Palumbo said, “thatrecovery really needs to be de-fined more fully, as not simply ab-stinence from a substance, but alifestyle, free from addiction, thatis also based on wellness andhealthy choices.

“Living in recovery also in-cludes having the medical needs met, social support for a sub-stance-free lifestyle, employment and housing.”

This sentiment was shared by Dr. Peter Provet, president ofOdyssey House who has worked to include fitness and wellnessinto comprehensive treatment plans. “The bottom line,” hesaid, “is exercise makes us feel better, both mentally and physi-cally, and that is why physical fitness is such a big part of theOdyssey House experience.”

Also key in making the day a big success for recovery pro-grams were teams of runners and supporters from New York’streatment community, corporate sponsors, and volunteer agen-cies. John Tavolacci, executive vice president and chief operat-ing officer for Odyssey House, thanked them all their support,in particular our ‘Champion Sponsor’ ChemRx for their “stead-fast commitment to recovery programs.”

Run for Your Life 5K Celebrates Third Successful Year

“Moving exercise

to the center

of drug treatment”

Peter Provet

Odyssey Housethanks its generous sponsors:

Top female runners proudly display their trophies.

Don Manning, president of MPPI Insurance Services, farright, with members of Team MPPI.

The runners get off to a fast start.

Fall 2008 Page 5

Run for Your Life 5K Celebrates Third Successful Year

Supporting recovery. From left, John Tavolacci, executive vice president and chief operating officer; Jody Silva Falk, vice president of ChemRx; Peter Provet, president; Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, commissioner of OASAS; and Jay Dow, a reporter for WCBS-TV, with young runners.Right, a children’s race participant, and Adam Shalit, the winner of the adolescent’s competition.

On the day before the race, Odyssey House residentsand staff members joined The Recovery Project for apublic rally to celebrate National Alcohol and DrugAddiction Recovery Month. Thousands of people from across the country, including local andnational politicians, celebrities, nonprofit leaders,people in recovery, family members and supporters,gathered for a historic walk over the Brooklyn Bridgeto reinforce the message that anyone can “cross theirown bridge to recovery.”

The Recovery Project was created by A&E TelevisionNetwork to raise national awareness that addiction is a treatable disease and recovery is possible. TheProject supports leading national non-profit organizations that are promoting public educationand providing quality addiction treatment and recovery services.

Page 6 Odyssey House news

Milagros B. entered Odyssey House in March 2007 withonly an eighth grade education. Now, a little more than ayear later, she has earned her General Equivalency Diplo-ma and was the Manor Family Center’s valedictorian.

“I had to do it for my children,” said Milagros, who was re-cently reunited with her three daughters, ages 7, 4 and 2. “NowI can lead by example and show my daughters that hard workand persistence is the key to success.”

Milagros is one of 55 residents who were recognized forpassing their GED tests at a ceremony earlier this summer.Keynote speaker Jo Ann Ferdinand, Acting Justice of the KingsCounty Supreme Court and a prominent supporter of substanceabuse treatment as an alternative to incarceration, recognizedseveral of the graduates – as the presiding judge of the BrooklynTreatment Court, she had sent many of them to Odyssey House.

Judge Ferdinand congratulated the graduates for theprogress they’d made since they first came before her in court.She also talked to them about the significance of their accom-plishment. “Your high school diploma is not onlyproof that you can succeed in high school, it’sproof that you can succeed in life. Everything youneed to know to succeed in life, you learned study-ing for your GED at Odyssey House.”

In addition to Milagros, three other residentswere honored as valedictorians of their programs:Michael V., Teen Leadership Center; Anthony S.,Mabon; and Loraine R., Lafayette Avenue.

Michael V. has been a resident at the Leader-ship Center since October 2007, where he has excelled academ-ically and continues to serve as a role model for his youngerpeers. Motivated by his success in the GED classes, Michael en-rolled in Kingsborough Community College to study radiologictechnology.

Anthony S. dropped out of high school at age 17 and turnedto selling drugs after the birth of his daughter. Now, he is “proud

to be able to support my family legitimately.” While working to-wards his GED, Anthony completed Environmental Remedia-tion Technician training at Williamsburg Works and has a NewYork State license in asbestos abatement. He now works for a

construction firm based in Brooklyn. Loraine R., a resident of Lafayette Avenue

since September 2007, recently completed voca-tional training and said she is looking forward to“giving back and helping her peers see that treat-ment works if you work it.”

Education leads to treatment successOdyssey House’s Vocational Rehabilitation

Services, in partnership with the New York CityDepartment of Education and Project Restart,provides on-site educational services available to

all residential clients and administers the GED exam five times ayear. In 2007, Odyssey House helped 86 percent of those eligi-ble to work find employment; increased the number of GEDsobtained by 25 percent; and contributed to a 66 percent suc-cessful treatment completion rate.

Young Residents in Recovery Reach Educational Goals

Odyssey House Recognized at NASDAQ Opening Ceremony

Valedictorians Loraine R., Michael V., and Milagros B. at theGED graduation ceremony.

Odyssey House joined Philadelphia Insurance Compa-nies (PHLY) on Tuesday, July 22nd to ring the NASDAQstock market opening bell. Brian O’Reilly, Regional VicePresident of Sales and Marketing for PHLY, said,“Philadelphia Insurance Companies is committed to thenonprofit industry and serving the community; we sup-port the mission of Odyssey House, whose innovativeprograms ensure that vulnerable individuals return totheir communities as productive, drug-free citizens.”

Representing Odyssey House were George Rosenfeld,board chairman; Janice Glenn Slaughter, director of com-munity housing; Dr. Peter Provet, president and CEO; andtwo residents from our adolescent programs.

“Now I can lead by

example and show my

daughters that hard

work and persistence is

the key to success”

Milagros B.

Fall 2008 Page 7

Teens in treatment at Odyssey House areoffered a wide range of educational andcreative opportunities. A recent grantfrom the Elizabeth and Barets O. Ben-jamin Charitable Foundation will furtherenrich their experience by funding aplaywriting workshop for young peoplein our residential programs.

The workshop will engage participants inall stages of the playwriting process, from con-cept development to stage production. The finished play will be a comprehensive represen-tation of the participants’ growth and develop-ment during the treatment process.

Through the medium of playwriting, ado-lescents can tell their stories, improve their tech-nical skills as they seek to express their ideaseffectively, set and achieve accessible goals, anddevelop the leadership skills needed to mount a

production. The thrill of showcasing their ownwork builds young people’s self-confidence, engagesthem with theirpeers, and givesthem a powerfulvoice in theircommunity.

“Creativeactivities suchas playwriting not onlyenhance students’ understanding of theworld, they broaden their perspective on aca-demics,” said George Rosenfeld, chairman ofOdyssey House’s Board of Trustees, who wasinstrumental in securing the grant. “The artsgive young people the opportunity to expressthemselves while challenging their intellect —the arts are essential in the development of thewhole person.”

MISSIONIt is the mission of

Odyssey House to:

Provide comprehen-sive and innovativeservices to the broadestrange of metro NewYork’s population whoabuse drugs, abuse alcohol, have mentalillness.

Provide high quality,holistic treatment im-pacting all major lifespheres: psychological,physical, social, family,educational, and spiri-tual.

Support personal re-habilitation, renewal,and family restoration.

Throughout its ac-tivities, Odyssey Houseundertakes to act as aresponsible employerand member of thecommunity and tomanage the assets ofthe organization in aprofessional manner.

Foundation Funds Drama Curriculum

Construction is underway on the 50-apart-ment, long-term housing development at123rd Street in East Harlem. It is on scheduleto open in September 2009. The building willprovide a supportive, independent living envi-ronment for individuals who have overcomemental health problems and drug, alcoholand/or significant medical conditions. Right,an architectural rendering of what the com-pleted building will look like.

Coming Soon, New Housing in Harlem

Page 8 Odyssey House news

95 Pine Street

New York, NY 10005

www.odysseyhouseinc.org

Tel: 212-361-1600

Odyssey House Community-Based Services

Founded in 1967, Odyssey House is an Enhanced Therapeutic Commu-nity (TC) providing innovative services and programs for a broad pop-ulation of drug-troubled individuals and families, including:

Odyssey House runs the largest and oldest parent and child residential/outpatient TC program in the country and the only residen-tial/outpatient TC program for senior citizens.

Mothers & children Pregnant women Adolescents Elders (55 years and older)

Mentally ill chemical abusers (MICA) Single adults Court mandated clients Homeless adults

For more information about Odyssey House programs, call 212-987-5100 or visit us online at www.odysseyhouseinc.org