2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 51
BY SENATOR DUPLESSIS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Odyssey House Louisiana on fifty years of service in treating individuals with
chronic addictions.
WHEREAS, Odyssey House Louisiana (OHL) was established on February 20, 1973,
in New Orleans by a small group of committed individuals, including its founder and first
executive director, Alice "Maggie" Pike; and
WHEREAS, OHL traces its roots to the original Odyssey House therapeutic
community founded in New York City by Dr. Judianne Densen Gerber in 1967, which
pioneered a nontraditional, family-centered approach for the treatment of substance use and
mental health disorders; and
WHEREAS, OHL is headquartered in its original home in the Tremé/Lafitte
neighborhood in a historic facility that has been used to serve the community for over 150
years; the home was erected in 1866 at the request of Thomy Lafon for the Sisters of the
Holy Family to establish an orphanage for children displaced by the Civil War; upon Lafon's
death in 1893, his bequests funded an expansion to the facility and its services; and with the
relocation of the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1973 and the support of community donations,
the building was purchased for the creation of Odyssey House Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, OHL has grown since its inception from a small residential treatment
program to a robust network of services across New Orleans and throughout south
Louisiana, including programs in Lake Charles and Morgan City; and
WHEREAS, OHL is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and primarily serves
individuals who cannot pay for their own treatment, and serves people from all parts of the
state; its commitment to those most vulnerable and at risk has remained constant since its
founding; and
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WHEREAS, OHL's vast continuum of services includes medically monitored detox,
short-term and long-term residential treatment, treatment for pregnant women and women
with dependent children, and sober living, in combination with case management, housing,
mental health, and primary care; and
WHEREAS, OHL's dynamic model of integrating primary and behavioral health care
with an emphasis on addiction through its federally qualified health centers has been
recognized and replicated across the country; and
WHEREAS, the efforts of OHL's Prevention Department with additional assistance
through related grant funding have saved thousands of lives through naloxone distribution
and training, infectious disease testing, and fentanyl test strip distribution, as well as
development of radio, podcast, and social media content addressing substance use-specific
issues related to youth; and
WHEREAS, OHL opened the state's first Sobering Center in 2019 in partnership with
the city of New Orleans, which provides a safe place for individuals to sober up, deferring
them from jail or the emergency room and ensuring convenient access to further treatment,
thereby reducing burden on hospitals and the criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, OHL helped to rebuild health service delivery systems in New Orleans
following Hurricane Katrina and remained operational throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
to ensure that individuals seeking treatment could have access to services; OHL continues
to expand its capacity to meet the growing community need for treatment.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Odyssey House Louisiana, its staff, board, leadership, and supporters
on fifty years of service to the state of Louisiana in treating individuals with chronic
addictions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Odyssey House Louisiana.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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