The Sisters’ Scholarship at Odyssey is of great importance to me because is tied to tragic outcomes in my own family. The Scholarship is in memory of my two sisters who both tragically died as a result of their history of addiction and trauma. My younger sister, Patsy, died at just 17 years old from a drug overdose/suicide attempt after struggling with addiction and trauma through her painfully short life. My older sister, Caryn, died just last year at age 68 from decades of addiction and a lifetime of self-destructiveness common among trauma victims. This scholarship is in their memory.
Since beginning the Odyssey ‘Sister’s Scholarship in September 2018, there have been 25 applicants, 18 who completed the application process with 11 women awarded the Sisters Scholarship. Most recipients have already started their CAC training and one woman is already halfway towards completing her CAC I classes. The difficult yet beautiful essays we have received have been very moving for me and I will share one or two in the near future with you.
I have found a common thread through all of the essays that underscore what the Scholarship program is all about — women helping each other. This is why the Scholarship program is so important to me. As everyone who’s ever gone through it knows, dealing with a family members addiction is very difficult and often heartbreaking. My sister Caryn died last year from a lifetime of struggling with trauma and addiction. Although I suffered the same set of experiences, I was able with the help of many people to find recovery. Sadly, my sister could not ever find her path and always relapsed. I had to acknowledge that with all my decades of recovery, all my education, years of working as a CAC, training CAC classes and being the Director of Odyssey, that I was not able to help her find that path. I realized how common that experience is and that no one person has the answers, even one who has spent his life fighting the disease. I decided to take the sadness, frustration, and guilt I felt over her death and find an answer for the next woman, who right now is living in my sister’s shoes. That answer is to make it possible for women in recovery from their trauma and addiction to obtain their CAC so that they may inspire, motivate, help and simply connect with those women still suffering. I believe the beginning of recovery is connecting with another human being and recognizing that you are not alone, there is hope.
Michael Connelly
A CAC III since 1980 and ADAD/OBH trainer since 1982, Michael contributed to shaping the culture of CAC training and treatment in Colorado. He received his Master’s in Educational Psychology the University of Colorado in 1995 and his LAC in 2004. Combining his 20 years of professional working experience with his education and his personal experience of being in long term recovery from addiction led him to open Odyssey Training Center in 1999. Michael believes that addiction counseling training must be taught from the “inside out”. That means combining current academic/scientific research of addiction with genuine compassion for people struggling with their addiction. All of Odyssey’s faculty are OBH approved, are active counselors with at least a decade of field experience, years of training experience and many life experiences. Odyssey’s mission is to give our students the most current and accurate information about addiction and the understanding of how to apply that knowledge in helping each client take the first step toward their recovery.
Odyssey offers both online/hybrid and onsite CAC classes for treatment programs throughout Colorado. If your clinic or organization is interested in onsite CAC training, please contact Michael at mconnelly@odysseycenter.
