Contact: marketing@cenikor.org
Houston, TX Founded in 1989, Cenikor’s Odyssey House knows adolescent addiction continues to plague Houston, Texas, and the United States of America. Odyssey House is a 32-bed coed facility with counselors and staff who provide treatment to chemically dependent youth willing to address their substance use and underlying issues. The program provides intensive residential inpatient treatment through the clinical support of individual and group service delivery.
With the onset of the coronavirus in 2020, life has been different for many but especially unusual for young people in recovery. Among those differences, due to government-mandated restrictions, has been the inability of some Odyssey House residents to be offsite. Realizing this and with her firsthand experience with recovery at a young age, Business Development Manager Melody Chandler took it upon herself to host a socially distanced holiday party for Odyssey House residents. “I wanted to lift the residents’ spirits,” she said.
To do so Chandler enlisted the support of Cenikor Senior Regional Director – South Region Eugene Hall, Jr., Houston’s Game On Premium Game Theater, Towne Lake Crumbl Cookies, and Houston Lawn Games. On the day of the event–Friday, December 18, 2020– Game On brought their truck and provided the youth with hours of fun by donating various mobile video games. Providing for even more celebration, Houston Lawn Games donated life-sized games including Connect 4, Jenga, Cornhole, and more. Adding to the festivities, Cypress Towne Lake Crumbl Cookies donated scrumptious desserts, while Eugene Hall, Jr. grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Chandler also raised $500 to give each resident Christmas pajamas to open on Christmas day, to allow them to decorate their own stockings, to help them decorate gingerbread cookies, to help them make ornaments, and more.
Discussing the success of the event, Chandler said, “It was great watching the kids get so excited—it reminded me of when I was a kid waiting at the window for Santa.” Having previously worked at a facility that required $40,000 for thirty days of treatment and did not accept insurance, Chandler reflected, “What drew me to Cenikor is the fact that we can help anyone and we don’t allow finances or money to be a barrier to treatment.” While the donations for this event were greatly appreciate by all, Chandler said Odyssey House still needs more assistance for their residents. “We are always open to receiving more donations including clothing, tvs, gym equipment, decorations for the girls dorms, and more.”
For more information on Odyssey House visit https://www.cenikor.org/programs/adolescent
For all press matters, inquiries, and more information on Cenikor and their centers, please contact marketing@cenikor.org or call 713-266-9944 ext. 3020.
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