Our community services team supports rangatahi before and after staying with us. 

Our youth residential service is open to 13 to 17 year olds from throughout New Zealand, who may be experiencing harms from their alcohol or other drug use. We are also able to offer services in the community for rangatahi based in Auckland.

We value diversity and we respect the unique culture and identity of everyone who may seek our support. We do not discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation. 

Funding. If you have a residential address in Auckland, your local District Health Board (DHB) will be able to fund your treatment. If you live outside Auckland, you may be eligible for funding as part of the National Methamphetamine Programme, or within the Oranga Tamariki FreshStart initiative. Please get in touch with our community team (09 638 4957 x756) to discuss your funding options. 

Please contact us:

• If you’d like to chat about what might work for you.

• If you think someone in your whānau, or a young person you’re supporting might benefit from our support.

We accept self-referrals, as well as referrals from whānau or other service providers.

To begin the referral process:

• Complete a referral form.

• Email this to youthodyssey@odyssey.org.nz.

If you need support with the forms, or have any other questions, please contact us at 09 638 4957 ext. 753.

Once a referral is received:

• A community practitioner will be assigned to the case. They will be in touch with you (or your referrer) to set up a meeting. We hope we can meet you in person.  But if this is not possible because you might be based out of Auckland, then we will be in touch by phone.  

• During the first meeting, we will tell you a bit about the service and give you as much information as you need about what we do and how we can support you. Even if you are not sure whether you want or need to stay with us, we’re happy to just have a chat about options for you.

• If staying with us seems like a good option, we will also complete an AOD (alcohol and other drug) assessment during our meeting to make sure that a residential stay is the best option for you. 

• We can also arrange a visit to our residence if you like. 

Please note the time from referral to admission into our residential programme will vary from young person to young person, depending on individual circumstances and availability at our residence. It generally takes between one and two months from receiving a completed referral form. 

Continuing care in the community:

• Once you have left our residential programme, your community practitioner will be in touch with you, your referrers and whānau to discuss next steps.

• If you are living in Auckland, we will continue to provide you with support in the community for up to one year after leaving our youth residence.

• For rangatahi living outside of Auckland, we will help you connect with local services.

When you make contact with us or if are referred to us, you will be assigned a Community Practitioner. They will make a time to meet or chat with you, wherever it works best for you.  This might be at home, at school, or in other places in the community.  If meeting up is not possible, they’ll arrange a time to call you.

Your Community Practitioner supports you throughout your journey with Odyssey. We guide you through the assessment and admission process and will be with you when you come to stay with us.  We also stay in touch while you are staying with us and have regular meetings with staff at the residence to see how you are going.

Before and after you stay with us, our community team can provide group or individual support. We work with you and anyone else who might be supporting you (e.g. whānau or other service providers) to come up with a plan about what might work best for you (e.g. how often and where you want to meet us).