253 Odyssey House Journals - Jordan253 Odyssey House Journals - Jordan
Odyssey House Journals
Jordan shares how an abusive relationship, meth use and years of homelessness led her into treatment at Odyssey House. She talks about accepting responsibility, learning to say no, and preparing to reunite with her children while building a hopeful future in recovery.
29:44•10 Jul 2026
From Homeless and Addicted to Hopeful: Jordan’s Journey with Odyssey House
Episode Overview
- Long-term, structured treatment can be more effective than short 30-day programmes for entrenched addictions.
- Radical acceptance and taking responsibility for one’s own behaviour are central to progress in recovery.
- Partners and relationships can strongly influence women’s pathways into addiction and criminal justice involvement.
- Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal can be medically dangerous and may require supervised detox.
- Learning to say no and stepping away from people pleasing helps protect sobriety and prevent overextending after treatment.
“I look in the mirror and I see what I've become and see the metamorphosis. And I truly enjoy it. And I'm excited to see what comes next.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on Odyssey House Journals introduces Jordan, a woman in long-term recovery who once described herself as a chronic people pleaser. Her story stretches from nine years in an abusive marriage, where daily drinking and meth use became the norm, to four years of homelessness in a tent in Ogden, Utah. Jordan talks openly about the moment her ex-husband, who first pushed her into heavy substance use, died from alcohol withdrawals.
Her five- and nine-year-old children witnessed his death, and she shares how that trauma, combined with her own addiction and homelessness, pushed her towards treatment. After a shoplifting charge and repeated probation violations, she finally agreed to enter Odyssey House, a programme she'd been warned was "so hard". What changed her mind?
Jordan explains that the programme "is what you make it" and credits radical acceptance for her progress: “If people can’t be like, ‘okay, this is how it is and I need to change my behaviours based on that,’ that’s why those people get in trouble.” She’s now four months sober in residential care, a voyager and a jet, and recognised as a leader among her peers.
With host Randall Carlisle and clinician co-host Jackie Buckman, the talk highlights how partners often play a major role in women’s pathways into addiction, the serious medical risks of alcohol withdrawal, and why short 30-day programmes rarely undo years of entrenched behaviour. Jordan also shares her new skill of saying no, letting go of people pleasing, and her plan for a "soft transition" to reunite with her children while juggling work, study, and outpatient treatment.
If you’re weighing up tough treatment options, scared of long-term programmes, or wondering whether real change is possible after years on the street, Jordan’s honesty might help you ask: what would a future you could feel excited about look like?
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