Odyssey Success
Odyssey success stories
Aley's road to recovery from alcohol misuse
Aley, as she is known affectionately to all at Odyssey, is 21 years old. She looks, sounds and acts like your typical young Australian woman. However, unlike many other young people her age, Aley has had to overcome some significant difficulties in her life.
Aley's parents migrated to Australia from Chile and both worked hard to secure a future for their children. Aley found her activities as a young child limited due to her father's English language skills and his drinking. The one activity Aley was good at was swimming and from the age of four she showed not only promise, but also the potential to be a champion!
Aley's father placed tremendous expectations upon her to win at swimming. More and more of her time was devoted to swimming carnivals at the expense of forming friendships. In most cases Aley did well at the carnivals, finishing first. But when she finished second or third her father wouldn't speak to her for weeks. As Aley said, "It took all of the fun out of it".
At 15, Aley's life was to change significantly and forever. Her environment at home remained chaotic and insecure due to the increase in her father's drinking. Aley tried to escape by spending as much time away from home as possible. On one of these occasions she was sexually assaulted. Aley tried to cope with the assault as best she could, but eventually started to drink, take pills and engage in violent behaviour.
Amid the chaos, and adding to it, was the discovery her mother had cancer. Aley was 17 at the time and, due to the fear she might lose her mother, descended into a spiral of further drunkenness. Her father said that if his wife died it would be due to Aley's behaviour. Aley attempted suicide on a few occasions before she was taken to a psychiatric unit where she was a self-described "mess". Her doctor recommended she contact the Odyssey House residential rehabilitation program to assist with her alcohol dependence.
At Odyssey House, Aley's confidence began to grow. She was given a job assignment in the kitchen where she had to learn to be responsible. "I didn't even know how to peel a potato!" Aley learnt how to communicate, negotiate and become responsible.
Aley graduated from Odyssey House in 2007 and is now working in the retail sector and studying human services part-time at university.