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At Odyssey House, we believe in transparency, community, and celebrating progress. Our News Archive is a place where you can explore the stories that have shaped our work—milestones in recovery, moments of advocacy, community events, and the voices of those we serve.
Whether you’re a long-time supporter or just learning about us, this archive offers a window into the heart of our mission.
Here’s what you’ll find:
- Newsletters – Browse through years of Odyssey House News, our twice-yearly publication highlighting client achievements, program updates, and staff stories.
- Event Coverage – See recaps and photos from our 5K run, art openings, community celebrations, and special gatherings.
- Recognition & Impact – Read about awards, partnerships, and the measurable impact of our programs.
- Archives by Month – Looking for something specific? Use the filter to find what you’re looking for quickly.
How to Navigate:
- Use the sidebar menu or dropdown to select a specific year or topic.
- Click on any headline to read the full post.
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If you have questions or are looking for something you can’t find, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re always happy to help.
Thank you for being part of the Odyssey House community. We hope you enjoy exploring our story.
Ecstasy Parties On — With Dangerous Results
NEW YORK - Ecstasy, the potentially lethal "love drug," is on the move. Glamorized in the 1990s by the predominantly white and suburban all-night "rave culture," E-pills are now spreading fast into America's rural areas and inner cities. Just ask William Alicea. A...
Letter to the Editor: Staying Clean
Peggy Orenstein's cover article "Staying Clean" drew praise from rehab providers and former users confirming that, as reported, there is no quick fix in treating addiction and no guaranteed cure. Below is the response by Dr. Peter Provet, among the many written by...
Letter to the Editor: Treating Drug Use, Urban and Rural
To the editor: "As Drug Use Drops in Big Cities, Small Towns Confront Upsurge" (front page, Feb. 11) clearly tells America that drug abuse is a great equalizer. It does not segregate by class, race or geography. Cities, small towns and rural areas face similar...
NineOneOne: A Guide to Post-9/11 Recovery Sources
NineOneOne The Daily News By Susan Ferraro Salt in the wounds Among the millions traumatized by the attacks on the World Trade Center were thousands of New Yorkers already struggling, day to day, with recovery from substance abuse or painful or disabling...
Letter to the Editor: OxyContin Abuse
To the editor: Monitoring prescriptions of OxyContin sounds like a good place to start to prevent increased abuse ("Few State Track Prescriptions as Way to Prevent Overdoses," front page, Dec. 21). But we must also increase drug treatment programs and sponsor broader...
Letter to the Editor: Addicted to OxyContin
To the Editor: An important concern missing from the increasing attention paid to abuse of the powerful painkiller OxyContin is the treatment needs of the abuser. Whether or not Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the drug (news article, Aug. 13), speeds up development...
A Chance to Reconnect for Mentally Ill Addicts
The New York Times By David Rohde Brandi Wells set off from her Upper West Side apartment for East Harlem on Thursday night fighting memories of a decade of failure. With a mixture of hope and dread churning her stomach, Ms. Wells, a 28-year-old artist with cascading...
Residential Drug Treatment for Mothers Shows More Promise Than the War on Drugs
The American Prospect Online By Melissa Paige McNamara Brandy was crawling on the floor near her mother's feet, dressed in her new denim jumper with tightly braided pigtails framing her dimpled face. Her smile hid any sign that in her nine months, Brandy has already...
Prison isn’t the Answer for Darryl
Darryl Strawberry will be sentenced in Tampa tomorrow for violating probation, and a lot of people are rooting for heavy punishment. The details of his seemingly fruitless battle with drug addiction have left the public understandably fed up. To some, the downward...
Letter to the Editor: Choice of a Drug Czar
To the Editor: Re "Tough Conservative Picked for Drug Czar, Officials Say" (news article, April 26). The choice of John P. Walters as drug czar gives us some solace in that at last we have an inkling of President Bush's position on drugs. But reports that Mr. Walters...
Growing Number of Older Addicts Spawns Unusual Treatment Center
Associated Press By Elizabeth LeSure In his 60s, Ramon Loper spent the last few years of his musical career desperately feeding a heroin addiction. He rushed from gig to gig, getting cash and getting high. "And then," he says, "I broke my hip. Thank God!" The members...
Help for Aging Addicts
New York Daily News By Thomas Zambito At first glance, it could be a gathering of church elders on a Sunday morning. But the seven men and women gathered in the basement of an East Harlem treatment center are among the city's most incorrigible drug addicts. Now...
Letter to the Editor: New Pieces of the Drug Puzzle
To the Editor: Re: Adjusting Drug Policy (editorial, Feb. 27) For years, drug treatment experts have argued for more money to be spent on demand reduction over interdiction and enforcement, and for years, study after study has supported their argument that treatment...
Letter to the Editor: Experiencing Ecstasy
Responses to The New York Times Magazine's "Experiencing Ecstasy" (January 21, 2001) were notable for especially strong opinions, both pro and con. Many parents, doctors and public officials accused the article of glorifying Ecstasy use and for insufficiently...
Drugs’ Ugly Legacy: Healing Families Saves Kids
The crackdown on public marijuana smoking that Mayor Giuliani announced Tuesday is only one part of his continuing campaign against drug use and drug trading in the city. New Yorkers should applaud the mayor's relentless efforts. Drug abuse poisons not only the users,...
Letter to the Editor: Uses of Marijuana: Make Distinctions
To the Editor: It is absolutely essential that voters in Alaska and elsewhere make a clear distinction between legalizing marijuana and allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. Dr. Herbert D. Kleber stated this succinctly in "What Is the Matter...
N.Y. Provider to Start Innovative Teen Treatment Center
New York City-based Odyssey House, a 33 year-old therapeutic community (TC), plans to open an innovative treatment center for adolescents based on a variation of the TC model that will help the most troubled youths who have high service needs. this will include...
A New Breed of Homeless
The Daily News By Peter Provet, Ph.D. Drugs and homelessness are two of society's most intractable problems, but they are not much in the news of late. Neither presidential candidate have offered a coherent plan that addresses these intransigent social issues. And...
A Plight Understood by Elders
The New York Times By Clyde Haberman Darryl Strawberry, the recovering drug user, cancer survivor and sometime baseball player, was back in the news this week for all the usual reasons. He was in trouble with the law. Mr. Strawberry's troubles came to the...
Letter to the Editor: Ecstasy and Marijuana
To the Editor: "Distilling the Truth in the Ecstasy Buzz" (news article, Aug. 6): In our rush to protect our youth from the dangerous drug Ecstasy, let's not forget the far more pervasive and destructive drug of choice of millions of school-age children: marijuana....
Why Addiction Cannot be Moderate
Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly By Peter Provet, Ph.D. A fundamental question has recently resurfaced within the field of addiction: Can alcoholics learn to drink moderately? Audrey Kishline, founder of a group called Moderation Management and one of the...
From Lethal Mix, Random Attacks
The Daily News By Peter Provet, Ph.D. Once again, fear and tragedy strike at New Yorkers. An innocent woman, Tiffany Goldberg, is hit in the head with a slab of concrete, repeating the nightmare that happened to Nicole Barrett late last year. In...
Plan to Offer Drug Program in Lieu of Jail is Questioned
The New York Times By Katherine E. Finkelstein The ambitious plan that New York State's chief judge announced Thursday – in which most nonviolent criminals who are addicts will be offered drug treatment instead of jail – would be extraordinarily complicated to...
Grant will Establish NYC Facility for Dually Diagnosed
Mental Health Weekly The New York State Office of Mental Health has awarded a $4.7 million grant to Odyssey House, a 33-year-old therapeutic community, to construct a new 46-bed supervised community residence in New York City for adults with co-occurring mental and...
Letter to the Editor: Going to Pot
Manhattan: Parents' outrage over the treatment their marijuana-smoking teenagers received from the New York City Police Department following the kids' arrests at a pro-legalization rally in lower Manhattan on May 6 is at once baffling and worrisome. Baffling because...
Drug Tests’ Easy Lure
To the Editor: Re "Family in Texas challenges Mandatory School Drug Test" (front page, April 17): Many of us who work in drug treatment are concerned the enactment of mandatory drug testing of high school students by the Lockney school board in Texas will not be of...
Straw’s Drug Abuse Lessons
The Daily News By Peter Provet, Ph.D. Major League Baseball has finally held Darryl Strawberry accountable for his cocaine abuse. While many applaud this decision, it is important to examine his drug abuse in the broader context of chronic addictions across all...
Where clean and sober includes a hairdo
The New York Times By Felicia R. Lee Her eyes didn't match the rather ordinary details conveyed in a cursory glance: a middle-aged woman, small pieces of jewelry, demure sweater set, tentative posture. Her eyes had seen hell. She came on opening day at the...
‘Geriatric’ junkies are a new wrinkle on age-old curse
The New York Post By Rocco Parascandola Not for a second did Charles Crayton – husband, father, deacon, Transit Authority worker – think he'd ever turn to drugs. But when his wife of nearly 40 years, Sandra, developed lung cancer 10 years ago, Crayton, at a...
Odyssey House, Inc. Names New President and Charts Future Course
TCA News It was announced on August 16 that Dr. Peter Provet was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey House, Inc. Dr. Provet joins the 30-year-old New York City-based non-profit organization as it expands its services within the substance abuse,...