Talitha is one of the many parents supported by Odyssey’s Family Centre. Having her young children with her was a personal joy and also motivated her to get the most of the programmes and support Odyssey offers.

New posters to spark important conversations about stigma, discrimination and the role we all play in creating welcoming and inclusive environments are appearing across Odyssey services.

It was a proud day for Odyssey and Te Kamo High School as we welcomed national health and wellbeing leaders to showcase the impact of Tūturu within the kura.

E Ara E is Odyssey’s service that supports 18-24 year olds with mental health or substance use challenges to get into work or study. The team works alongside tāngata whai ora to address the barriers that are getting in the way of employment or study, as well as helping them to work towards their goals. This story shares the success of Mark, who found work in December last year.

We’re sharing Odyssey’s Annual Review for 20205. It’s packed with articles about what’s important to us, and the work we’re doing in the wellbeing space. We’ve also included two video stories to supplement the articles.

Since 2019, Haven has lived up to its name by offering a space to provide support for people affected by mental distress, AOD challenges, and homelessness on Auckland CBD’s Karangahape Rd.

The impact has been significant – since opening, we’ve had over 100,000 visits! Haven has made a real difference in the lives of some of our most vulnerable people experiencing unimaginable hardship.   

In recent months we’ve been reviewing our delivery of Haven to ensure the service is working the best it can for the people using them.

Our 2024 Annual Review is here! We've filled it with vibrant stories about our new and existing services, and it includes video content if you prefer watching over reading.

In 2024, our Kai Garden Training Programme in Tāmaki Makaurau celebrates its 5th birthday. Kai Garden Coordinator Liz Willis shares more about the training programme.

Dave, Odyssey's Lived Experience Lead, talks about growing up and searching for a male role-model, having trouble at school, and being labelled and defined by the system. Dave talks about a lifestyle of drug use and criminal activity, which led to incarceration. Dave found peace, humility, purpose, and a calling to peer support, after a chance encounter with an old friend.

We have recently launched a new service called Taupae Wheako, which is all about supporting the peer support and lived experience workforce.

Mackenzie, who ran the Amsterdam marathon on October 16 has generously raised £4,563 - around $8,800 NZD - for Odyssey's family centre.

Diwali draws near and is celebrated on Monday 24 October this year. We have asked Operations Manager, Supriya Maharaj, Training Manager, Anushka Ananth, and Intern Psychologist Sunaina Roy to share their thoughts about the festival. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs and symbolises light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Youth INtact’s cultural support worker Melody Nepe is supporting young women at Huntly College, Waikato, to develop personal skills and resources based in Mana Wāhine practice. Find out more about the College’s Te Rangimarie girls’ reference group and Melody’s work at Youth INtact….

Te Ara Oranga (The Path to Wellbeing) is a methamphetamine harm reduction partnership in Te Tai Tokerau. Odyssey has been involved in the programme since it was established in October 2017, supporting over 500 people to access services to reduce methamphetamine harms.

Josh accessed Odyssey’s services within the Te Ara Oranga programme and shares his story here

Haven, a peer-led, after hours drop-in support space on Karangahape Road recently welcomed its 10,000th visitor.

Odyssey is using the REC-CAP assessment and planning tool to support tāngata whai ora to build on their strengths. Here, we explain the three components of recovery capital and the work we are doing to embed the REC-CAP tool in our adult services.