OdysseyNH News

OdysseyNH Restructures Programs

To meet the needs of its clients and offset a shaky economy, OdysseyNH is restructuring its current programs to reduce cost while still maintaining an uncompromising level of care and support for the people it serves. OdysseyNH has been helping New Hampshire youth, women and families reclaim their lives from the difficulties of substance abuse, trauma and behavioral issues since 1970.

Currently there are four residential programs in Hampton, Rochester and Canterbury as well as New Hampshire’s first Recovery High School in Hampton.The restructuring involved moving PACE, our short-term evaluation and treatment program, from Rochester to the Adolescent Therapeutic Center (ATC) in Hampton. This has reduced costs and will centralize the organization’s services and staff.With this restructure and without increasing capacity, ONH’s ATC becomes an intensive, comprehensive short and long-term facility for youth.Residents will continue to attend the Odyssey Academy, which is a special needs certified school.

In addition, the Blue Heron Inn, Odyssey’s transitional living facility, will increase staff, enhancing support services to teens learning independent living skills.The program will now provide community group living for teens, many who also attend the Odyssey Academy, for whom returning home is not possible.While the number of Blue Heron residents will not change, the increased staff will give the teens greater opportunities to pursue their goals toward success.

All of the other established OdysseyNH programs, including the Academy, the Recovery School and Odyssey Family Center, will not be impacted by this reorganization. The programs will continue to provide high quality services to clients, adhering to the agency’s mission of inspiring youth, women and families to improve their lives by overcoming substance abuse, trauma and behavioral difficulties to become contributing members of our community.

These changes will allow OdysseyNH to be flexible and to focus on developing and embracing new therapeutic options alongside existing residential programs.

Academy Face-lift Continues

The Odyssey Academy landscaping project that began in April saw the completion of its second phase on July 21.  Site Structures Landscape returned to work alongside students, planting trees and bushes with edible berries, and laying a blue-stone patio that will be enjoyed by all for years to come.  The plants and materials were generously donated by David Short of Stratham Circle Nursery and Turner Porter of Tuck Reality Corp.  OdysseyNH would like to extend its sincere thanks everyone involved for their support and generosity.  

Click here for the Seacoastonline article about the project.

Odyssey Celebrates COA Re-accreditation

OdysseyNH is pleased to announce the re-accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA).  

COA is an independent, not-for-profit, family services and behavioral health care accrediting entity. It evaluates an agency according to best practices standards in several areas including residential treatment services, finance, governance, quality improvement and behavioral management. And although the accreditation process is entirely voluntary on the part of our agency, by gaining COA's seal of approval we ensure our stakeholders that we are fully committed to delivering quality care in the increasingly competitive, outcome-based service environment.

COA accreditation attests that an organization meets the highest national standards of best practices and is delivering the highest quality services to the community it serves.  OdysseyNH is proud continue its relationship with COA's Community of Excellence, which is comprised of more than 1,800 private and public organizations that serve over 7 million children, youth, individuals and families in North America.

OdysseyNH will be accredited until 2011. In the meantime, Odyssey's Process Quality Improvement (PQI) committee will continue to generate quarterly program outcome reports and review stakeholder feedback summaries in compliance with COA standards.

A Ticket to Change the World

"You are educated. Your certification is your diploma. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world." said OdysseyNH Academy Principal, Amy Allen, before she had the distinct honor of graduating the Class of 2008 at the June 12 Annual Graduation and Achievement Night.

This year, OdysseyNH had the privilege of graduating two seniors from its Academy who are both moving on to college. One graduate, Joyce, will be attending the New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) in Concord to begin her studies in social work. The other, Rachel, will be attending the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, MA to study photography. Both students are looking forward to their bright new futures.

The evening was filled with celebratory cheers and excitement. "I can't believe it's finally here!" boasted one student. 

What makes this annual celebration so special is that all of OdysseyNH's clients deal with complex issues including substance abuse, trauma and behavioral problems, but on this night, it was their accomplishments that were the focus. Along with the high school diplomas granted to the seniors, awards were given to students who excelled in academics, and in addition, clients were recognized for their dedication and hard work toward living a life of recovery.

Celebrating A Fantastic First Year

In 2007 the OdysseyNH Academy opened its doors to students. On May 30, 2008, Odyssey celebrated that first year with a breakfast and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Academy, complete with giant scissors borrowed from the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Friends of Odyssey gathered to enjoy breakfast treats made by chef, James Cobern and students of the Culinary Program. Guests socialized over pastries and coffee while students of the Academy gave tours providing a look at the school through their eyes.

"The students made the day," said one guest, noting the enthusiasm and honesty of a student who showed her around the school. "Very effective."

Guest speakers were clients of OdysseyNH: Joe, a student of the Academy told his story with candor and humor, entertaining all with a "rap" about his family, his recovery, and his hopes for the future. And there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Stephanie, a graduate of the Odyssey Family Center in Canterbury, told her story of struggles with addiction, relationships with her children, and her newfound life. A question and answer session allowed guests to interact on a personal level with Joe and Stephanie, responding with a standing ovation.

The morning ended with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the entrance to the Academy. Students, Board members, and staff came together to hold the ribbon, which was cut by Odyssey CEO, Erik Johannessen.

OdysseyNH wishes to personally thank Chamber President, Doc Noel, for taking the time to come to the event with a beautiful ribbon and the giant scissors.  It is with the support of our community that we are able to make a difference in the lives of the youth, women and families we help.

Click here for the Seacoastonline article about the Celebration.

OdysseyNH Academy Gets a Face-lift

The OdysseyNH Academy in Hampton got a much needed facelift on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 with the help of a local landscaping company. 

In the photo, a OdysseyNH Academy student and staff member is working hard under the guidance of Charlie Bourdages and his crew from Site Structures Landscape, Inc. in Kittery Maine.

Site Structures donated their time, expertise and materials for the entire day and worked with staff and students to beautify the area around the OdysseyNH Academy. 

A proposal to incorporate new trees and plants is set to begin in late July.  The mission of OdysseyNH is to inspire youth, women and families to improve their lives by overcoming substance abuse, trauma, and behavioral difficulties to become contributing members of their communities.  The OdysseyNH Academy is the organization’s educational facility which clients from the residential programs in Hampton and Rochester attend.  The Academy offers a state-accredited high school education while focusing on recovery.  For more information about Site Structures, visit www.sitestructureslandscape.com.

Fast-teks Helps Local Nonprofit Get Connected

When Roger Smith, Area Director of Fast-teks Off-Site Computer Services, heard that OdysseyNH was relocating their administrative offices to Hampton and needed help setting up their computer network, he jumped at the opportunity to lend a hand.

OdysseyNH (ONH) currently has four residential facilities, in Hampton, Rochester and Canterbury and a wide area network (WAN) was imperative to connect the organization and Fast-teks' innovation and generosity saved the day! Located in Exeter, this national computer services company has trainers and Web site developers that have helped thousands of small business and home owners with their various computer needs. The company sat down with ONH to determine not only what their needs were, but how they could meet those needs and still remain budget conscious. Smith and his team donated their time and expertise to plan the connection of ONH's locations through a wide area network for staff, teachers and caregivers, making their jobs much more efficient. So far the network has been installed in two of locations, and is up and running smoothly. Fast-teks will continue to work with OdysseyNH to connect the other facilities this spring.

OdysseyNH (formerly Odyssey House) helps young people, women and families overcome substance abuse and other tough issues with four residential facilities, and recently opened New Hampshire's first and only recovery high school at OdysseyNH Academy in Hampton. This state-of-the-art school helps clients continue their education while promoting the skills necessary to move forward with their lives. Thanks to Fast-teks OdysseyNH's locations near and far have gotten closer to each other.  For information about Fast-teks, visit www.fastteks.com.