Odyssey House Victoria

Campaign to Tackle Addiction

"Addiction doesn’t go away on its own”. That's the key message of Odyssey House Victoria's new campaign to help tackle this issue. The campaign has three main aims:

1. Raise awareness of the issue of addiction and help challenge its stigma
2. Encourage people struggling with alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems to seek help
3. Encourage people and government to better support AOD treatment programs

As you are already reading this, you may already be aware that addiction touches families and friends as well as those who are addicted. Chances are, someone close to you has been affected.

... and that's the thing, we all like to generalise about what kind of people are affected by drug or alcohol problems, and put them in a box. That way, we can try and hide it away.

That's why we need your help! We are running television and radio advertisements and a real-time petition that will print out every name that is added to it. If you haven’t already done so, you can view the advertisement and enter the petition here: thebox.odyssey.org.au. This petition will be sent to the government to ask them to help reduce stigma and prioritise funding for the treatment of drug and alcohol problems. Between us, we can make a difference.

No brother, sister, parent, child, friend should ever have to face addiction alone, because treatment works. With your help, addiction can be reduced in Australia.

Here are some facts:

• One in every twenty Australians is currently experiencing a substance use disorder. More than 50% of people who experience addiction at some point in their lives will achieve a full recovery with the right support.

• Every dollar invested in addiction treatment has been shown to return up to seven dollars in savings to the community.

• The social cost of drug and alcohol abuse in Australia is estimated to be over $50 billion each year. With the current approach, 75% of the $3.2 billion spent by Australian governments to combat this goes to law enforcement efforts. Only 10% goes to prevention, 7% to treatment, and 1% to harm reduction initiatives.

Alcohol consumption contributes to 3.2% of the Australian burden of disease and leads to over 500,000 hospital episodes each year (NHMRC 2009).

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?

Get help. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, there are a number of organisations you can contact. Odyssey House Victoria is just one of those organisations. Make the call and reach out today.

Phone a friend who has a problem. Call them or email them but just start the conversation about what is happening and where they can get help.

Make a donation. The work that we do at Odyssey House Victoria is vital in providing treatment to people and families who struggle with addiction. Any donation from you would really help make a difference. Donate here at www.givenow.com.au/odysseyhousevictoria

Share the link to this campaign on Facebook.

The saying goes that ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ but for us, here at Odyssey House, it’s not a picture but a quilt.  When a resident of our live-in rehabilitation has reached the point in the program for them to start planning for their transition into the broader community and the final stage of their therapeutic journey, they are asked to choose a hand-made quilt that will be theirs to take with them when they leave.

At this pivotal point in the program, each individual develops a plan for the future detailing where they are going to live; who they are going to live with; what job or study they will look for as well their identifying their ongoing therapeutic challenges and relapse prevention strategies. Each person’s peers and therapist must agree that the plan is both realistic and achievable.

When drug use and mental health symptoms emerge together it can be devastating, but when a young person is added to the mix, the consequences can be unpredictable for both them and their family. This complex situation is what the Family Eclipse team work with on a daily basis.

Evidence shows that drug use and mental health conditions are often linked and the interaction between them can be difficult to understand. Odyssey House Victoria’s Family Eclipse program helps to increase the parents and young person’s knowledge and what they can do to improve health outcomes. The program is for young people aged 16-24 who have problems with drug use and mental health and includes family members.