"Odyssey House has been a great help in my life!"

This week's story is from a graduate of the Adult Program that has gone on to live a successful, productive life. He continues to "give back" by helping our organization secure grants. We are proud of him and acknowledge him for all of his hard work! Here is the story in his words....*


Odyssey House has been a great help in my life. In August of 2003 I was in jail for the first time in my life, for drug abuse. I was only there for a day, but it started to get my wheels turning about what I was going to do with my life, for the first time in years. In September of 2003 I checked myself into Odyssey House of Utah to try and get my life back on track. Odyssey is a drug rehab, serving 3 distinct centers, the Women & Children’s, Adult, and Adolescent center. All I wanted to do was quit using drugs, but in their program, I was given more than I could have ever hoped for. I was given all the tools I needed to stay clean, but above and beyond that, I learned to live a functional, positive life, hold a job, gain a sense of self-esteem and the ability to rebuild that which I thought was destroyed – my relationship with my family. Without writing 150 pages, I can’t tell you everything that Odyssey House gave me, but I can say that now 5 years has passed, and I am graduating from the University of Phoenix this year with my BS in Human Service, I have bought my first home, and I am getting married in September. This is my life now. I can assure you it would not have been my life without them.

Odyssey teaches many of the same rules for life, that my employer tries to instill in it’s members. We all have the ability to be good people. Everyone deserves respect. Everyone has the right to be treated fairly. We all have the ability to be honest, productive members of society. An open, honest, environment will help people get well, and truly bring out the best in people.

Tomorrow, I will have been working at my job for 4 years. This is the longest I had ever held a job before. I love my work, and know I will be working here for a long time. Without Odyssey House, I know that I would not only have never gotten a job where I have one today. I know that I would not have been able to keep it even if I had, but more importantly, I wouldn’t have been alive to ever apply. I know that the way life was going, I was lucky enough to live long enough to get into treatment.

-JE, Salt Lake City, UT


*Some elements of story were changed to promote client confidentiality