INDEPENDENT NEWS

Odyssey House Offers Life-Changes for Parents

Published: Mon 2 Aug 2004 11:51 AM
Odyssey House offers life-changing environment for parents
Prime Minister Helen Clark today opened the Odyssey Family Centre – a new specialist treatment facility for parents and their children – at 56 Bollard Avenue, Avondale, Auckland.

Odyssey House CEO Christine Kalin (L) holds the plaque signifying the opening of the new Odyssey House Family Centre with Prime Minister Helen Clark in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday 1 August 2004. ©FOTOPRESS/Sandra Teddy.
For over 20 years, Odyssey House Auckland has operated a range of specialist programmes for adolescents, parents, and other adults experiencing serious difficulties with substance abuse, gambling, and other associated problems. The new Family Centre fills a pressing need for a specialist 24-hour and residential service for parents and their children.
“The opening of this centre means parents can be fully immersed in what we call ‘The Therapeutic Community’ without being separated from their children,” says Odyssey House CEO Christine Kalin.
“At our centres, the primary ‘therapist’ and teacher is the community of residents and staff itself. The Therapeutic Community provides a highly effective, 24-hour context for change in which our clients experience consistent support and caring. That’s why this centre is so important – it makes that invaluable 24-hour environment available to parents and their children.”
Built in the grounds of the existing Bollard Adult Services Specialist Treatment Centre, the new Family Centre is a self-contained community incorporating 10 family living spaces, each with two bedrooms and an adjoining private bathroom. The centre also features a kitchen and dining area, medical facilities, teaching and training areas, and a children’s crèche and play area.
The Family Centre offers residential treatment similar to that offered at other Odyssey House centres with the addition of specialist training in parenting and life skills. Parents with as many as two children aged up to 12 years will be eligible for the programme, which can last from 4 weeks to 12 months depending on the needs of each family. The centre also offers special facilities for pregnant women and new mothers.
“It has taken us about six years to raise the over $1 million needed to build the centre and we would never have got there if not for the support of our sponsors and the generosity of our suppliers and tradespeople,” says Christine Kalin.
Odyssey House would like to very warmly thank ASB Charitable Trust, Sky City Community Trust, Variety – The Children’s Charity, Anonymous Trust, The William and Lois Manchester Trust, Lady Joyce Fisher, David Levene, and The Share Group for their generous support, as well as the many private donors and people who have offered their homes for use in fundraising activities.
Odyssey House Auckland operates several specialist residential and non-residential treatment centres for adults and young people in Avondale, Royal Oak, Mount Eden, and Mount Roskill. Although Odyssey House receives some Government funding, its services are largely dependant on sponsorship and donations. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Pat Williams on 09 623 1447.

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