More than 100 community leaders, government partners, Odyssey House board members, staff and supporters gathered in the Bronx on April 24th for the Tinton Avenue ribbon cutting ceremony. Tinton Avenue is our second supportive housing program to open in this month.
The event featured tenant-led tours of the buildings and speeches by Moira Tashjian of the NYS Office of Mental Health and Cynthia Stuart of the SupportiveHousing Network of New York. In addition, Adrienne F., a tenant, spoke of her experience being homeless and how having a home has improved her life: “When you’re in a shelter, you’re not living – you’re merely existing. Now I have a chance at being more self-sufficient and reaching my goals. I can also think more clearly and take better care of myself.”
Photo caption: The architects, contractors, consultants, funders, and Odyssey House management team responsible for the Tinton Avenue development celebrate the official opening. From left, Nick Lettire, Lettire Construction; Joe Olive, Jr., Olive Branch Consulting; Caren Abate and James Lupoli, NYS Office of Mental Health; Tina Mitchell, Odyssey House project manager; Moira Tashjian and Budd Isaacson, NYS Office of Mental Health; Peter Provet, Ph.D., Odyssey House president and chief executive officer; Durga Vallabhaneni, Odyssey House chief financial and administrative officer; Kevin Hoffman, The Richman Group; Amy Larovere and Thomas Wong, A. Larovere Consulting; Akiko Kyei-Aboagye and David Hirsch, Urban Architectural Initiatives.