Odyssey House Victoria’s mentoring program is gathering momentum. Established in 2020, the program has been created to provide support to clients of our Lower Plenty residential rehabilitation service who are nearing the end of their program, as they transition back into the community. This Leavers stage of the program is often accompanied with increased risk […]
Category Archives: News
In late June 2021, Odyssey House relaunched our Therapeutic Day Program in Geelong. Formerly operating through our Stepping Up consortium, the Day Program has been redesigned with new activities and a freshly decorated space within Barwon Youth, Child and Family Services. Participants attend daily for five weeks accessing peer group support, psycho-educational groups, and counselling, […]
Odyssey House (OHV) is now partnering with Geelong Withdrawal Unit (The Salvation Army) to reduce the risk of client overdose and to support clients as they transition from AOD residential withdrawal back into the community. Transition back to community living from residential programs including withdrawal, rehabilitation and prisons, are among the highest risk times for […]
Odyssey House Youth & Family Services received funding from the Pierce Armstrong Foundation, Mantana Foundation, and Vincent Chiodo Charitable Foundation to run two youth camps over a twelve-month period. The Odyssey Youth Camp Program provides opportunities for young people ‘at risk’ and “disengaged” to attend a three day camp on Phillip Island. The Odyssey Youth […]
We are pleased to announce that the Odyssey House Victoria Hope Centre in Lucknow, near Bairnsdale, is now officially open and has completed its first 6-months of operation. Despite plans to hold a launch on 20th April, the event had to be postponed indefinitely until COVID-19 related restrictions on any gatherings are lifted. We officially […]
Odyssey’s therapeutic community in Lower Plenty provides a structured and safe space for people seeking to address their substance use. However, once residents graduate from the residential rehabilitation program, they are often faced with the daunting task of creating a new network of support from scratch – work, recreation and community. For any of us […]
During COVID-19 restrictions, the Odyssey House Youth & Family Services team have come up with some alternate ways to engage young people who may be at-risk of problems with, or are using drugs and alcohol. We know that many young people have felt disconnected from social supports and regular activities, which has led to increased […]
Isolation is the single biggest risk factor contributing to alcohol and other drug (AOD) misuse, homelessness, mental health issues, family and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and child and family reunification breakdown. Many families with AOD issues are isolated due to the breakdown of extended family relationships or tragedies. For this reason, Odyssey House […]
We know that around three quarters of people accessing alcohol and other drug treatment are also tobacco smokers. We also know that diseases caused by tobacco smoking kill more people than drugs and alcohol combined1. Research from multiple studies suggests that people attempting to recover from alcohol and other drug use problems, have better abstinence […]
Our Specialist AOD Family Services program Kids in Focus (KIF) provides intensive outreach support for families who have multiple and complex needs, as well as Child Protection involvement. Under normal times, most of our work is home based. During COVID-19 restrictions, staff have limited their face-to-face contact and come up with interactive ways to keep […]