From: "Kontac" Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard Subject: Odyssey House Very Fucked Up Date: 13 Sep 1998 00:38:59 GMT A misspent youth treatment 001 as you might call it. There is alot more adventures I have had in the drug world but this is more of a continuation than anything else. After my tangle with the law I was remanded to atrocity house (Odyssey House) pending sentence. The justice system in it's infinite wisdom had sent me to the end of the line as far as treatment goes first. I found it on the whole a very unpleasant experience. People yelling at me and forever telling me what to do. Well after leaving Odyssey House in such an uproar the first time they were on the pay back when I returned. Pay back sounds like a drug term foreign to places like that but it was pay out time none the less. When I arrived the whole place was anticipating my arrival. I was usured into a large room full of people. They all remembered me but they all looked unfamiliar . And then the hail of abuse begun, even people who weren't in the place when I was there the first time were getting in on the act and venting some of there pent up drug starved emotions. I was yelled at and confronted (in a beneficial non violent manner heh) for 3 hours solid and was then told I had to prove my motivation to be in treatment. I kindly explained my motivation was not to end up in jail and that Odyssey House was just a means to that end. Well it went down like a cup of cold sick and they yelled at me some more therapeutically of coarse. For there next trick I had to do a Boarder (to again prove motivation which was building to run screaming into the street "please send me to jail" I resisted this temptation). A boarder is something everyone does who leaves and returns to Odyssey it involves getting up at dawns fart and cleaning Vans and scrubbing shit with tooth brushes lovely stuff. Also you have these 40 hours of work to complete while others are sitting down relaxing> Noone ever relaxes in Odyssey hence you have to get up before everyone else to do the bloody things. Likewise going to bed later to get in a precious hour of mindless work. So I played there silly game and did there smart ass border. I knocked out the 40hrs and little did I know they had something special for me. The day I finished they called me into a group and discharged me. for what you may ask well I protested loudly asking why I had broken no rules. Well they made a special one up just for me. I was discharged for being negative . Negative I continued to protest what the f... Well I said Fuck you All Have a Nice Time I'm Out Here. I instantly saw reality was out the fuckin gate and not with these insane psycho rejects from hell. So they instantly offered me reinduction back in. then I knew they were crazy. I said well I'll piss off now and get some will deserved gear into me and spot ya's all tomorrow at admission heh. Well that said forget that idea if ya walk out the gate stay walked and we will be ringing the Police to say you have breached bail heh. Now with an offer like that who can refuse.They had special plans for me little did I know. They remanded me so I was bailed there from the court. they stretched it out as long as they could trying to keep me there. Well the day of sentence on the chemist burg finally came. The sentence 2 years probation with special conditions to remain in Odyssey House. I nearly fuckin died in the dock. I then felt really sorry for myself . But I thought and schemed and was out in a month. I waited till my probation officer was on holiday and it needed her to be breached and recharged. On a Friday night, I was by now level 3 House Co-Ordinater and been rhemed up what they call centre line structure which is all the responsibility so you haven't got time enough to think about wiping your ass little own getting hammered. Anyway on this Friday I had forgotten to check the vans warrant of fitness for the children's van that takes them to day care. I was head of vehicles, childcare (and no I didn't like kids maybe that was why), the level 3 peer group, responsible for the information chain, not to mention 3 nights a week of night duty going to bed for 3 hours from 7pm to 10pm then up all night and off to bed at 9am and up again at 1pm. I don't know what was really going on to be honest I just knew I wasn't going to stay there for two years. So yeah back to the bastard van. well I didn't drive in those days (and a damn lucky thing that was too or I would be here today) And the people that did never said boo about the warrant. Well the whole peer group as they all drove the thing got pulled in and screamed at ( the oddyssey House final solution to everything) After a jolly nice ear bending hour of abuse they (the level 4 peer group) thought it might be nice to pull our privileges. Now in Odyssey there ain't many privs but in level3 you get to go out as a pair once a fortnight with 10 bucks in your pocket. They might not sound like much but believe me that and my tape deck were everything. You see they take everything off you when you go there accept your clothes and that means everything even your toothbrush is replaced. Initially you are not even allowed a ball point pen for fucks sake. So yeah they pulled my privs so that was it I walked out and I was so fucked up when I got to the street I collapsed. All the mind shit kicked in telling me I was going to crap out and die. I went straight to the drug clinic and booked into a 3 month program that would sweeten my probation officer. I was in in 2 days they were the two scariest days in my life. I needed a drug program to recover from odyssey. They all thought I was nuts when I got in there, running around screaming at people and polishing dust off every shelf I saw, what had happened to me. I still see people from time to time I was in there with and they still have sleepless nights about the place too. Not to mention the odyssey twitch. Oh yes I have met the famous Dr Denson Gurber founder of Odyssey House, the freak came to New Zealand we cleaned for weeks before her arrival everything was spotless( I mean these guys polish the polish off things. In houses they have rented you can see paint worn off every ledge from thousands of daily wipes) Yah so back to Aotola Gurber she arrives and what a let down a loud mouth thing she was. so we have a big meeting where each person stood up in turn and she said a little something special and moved most up a level. The people arround me began standing one by one as there name was called. My last name is a W so I was almost last. My name was called and rose to my feet she looked at me I smiled almost smirked then out comes," Ah Mr W...... and still as negative as fuck, sit down Mr W....." heh what a good judge of character don't ya think. She was just a load mouthed whining coked out old slut anyway. So yes Odyssey is just about making her rich by sucking money in the form of state benefits. Notice they don't set up in places without a welfare system .And definitely my vote for the most inhumane treatment of addicts ever devised. If fact I seriously content that anyone has ever been helped by them. there statistical results are not accurate and they killed at least one person I know of who died of hepatitis because they refused to take him to the doctor believing he was just acting up for drugs and attention. Well that is one of my 8 admissions to treatment many more were just as much fun and I'm still using so fuck em all.