People shouldn’t be frowned upon just because they’ve made bad choices – that’s the philosophy of Carlton’s Dennis Armfield, who has this week been named an official ambassador for Odyssey House Victoria.
As part of his work with Odyssey House, Armfield visited the Sydney Road Community School on Wednesday, to spend some time with students and speak to them about healthy living.
School principal Brian Considine said having someone like Armfield spend time with the kids shows them that people care.
“We’ve got 88 students at the moment and it’s probably quite an eclectic mix of kids from different backgrounds,” Considine said.
“Compared to mainstream schools we have a higher ratio of kids who been disengaged with school in the past. These kids require a lot more support and if it wasn’t for that, a lot of them wouldn’t be at school at all.
Odyssey House Victoria's Director of Development, Janet Beaumont, with Dennis Armfield. (Photo: Carlton Football Club)
“Seeing people like Dennis come in from the community gives them that sense of respect and a sense of belonging.”
Odyssey House Victoria focuses its work on helping people to overcome drug and alcohol issues. Armfield chose to become involved with the organisation after witnessing the effects of substance abuse on family and friends.
“A lot of society writes people off if they have an addiction, but it doesn’t mean they’re bad people, they may have just made a bad choice,” Armfield said.
“Going out to Odyssey House has given me amazing perspective on life; seeing what they’re doing and hearing about the stories of some of the addictions, from people who are doctors to people who are homeless. It’s a wide range of people who face these challenges in life.
“The kids here at the Sydney Road Community School just need some extra help. Just being there, just being an ear and lending some support, it can change a person’s day.”
Odyssey House Victoria’s Director of Development Janet Beaumont said the students loved the time that Armfield spent with them and were really engaged by the end of the session.
“Dennis has just been fantastic – he has so much energy and is such a great role model. It’s really great just to have a face that people can relate to – to let those people know that somebody cares,” she said.
