Golf, cornhole and bocce: This Camden County program uses sports to support people in addiction recovery

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On the top platform of the Camden County Driving Range, Jeffrey Whiteside swung his club and sent a golf ball high into the sky over the water of the Cooper River.

“Woo!” he exclaimed. “That was a good one.”

Behind him a group of men watched.

“It’s all that Wii golf, right?” one joked and laughed.

“For real, though,” Whiteside said as he quickly teed up another ball.

This fun outing was about more than hitting a few golf balls. Whiteside and others in the group that night are in recovery from substance use and addiction.

The weekly get-togethers are part of Camden County’s REAL Sports program, which uses physical activity as a way to foster a community of support and encouragement for people learning to maintain sobriety and recovery in addiction.

For some, the golf outing counts as a support meeting. Whiteside, who has been in recovery for more than six years and now works as a behavioral health technician at Epiphany Wellness Drug and Alcohol Rehab, said it can be a welcome break from the day-to-day counseling and therapy sessions.

“You can still find anybody to talk to, but at the same time, have some fun and do something competitive and get a little sweat in and wake up a little sore tomorrow,” he said. “It feels good sometimes.”

The county launched the REAL Sports program about a decade ago with golf. Over the years, it has added softball, cornhole and bocce ball. Soon, it will expand to include pickleball and other activities like gardening and horticulture.

But Patty DiRenzo, who works with the Camden County Office of Mental Health and Addiction, said at its core, the program is about creating a safe space for people in recovery to socialize and incorporate a new skill into their routines.

Some participants even use it to show family and friends their progress in recovery, she said.

“To show them, ‘Hey, mom, look! Or dad or brother or sister, look at me, I’m working it, I’m with my recovery community, I’m happy, I’m getting healthy, I’m doing things,’” DiRenzo said. “I think it means a lot to them.”

Many people who participate come from sober living homes, which is a housing model typically for those who are in early addiction recovery from drugs or alcohol. It can be a difficult time for people as they adjust to new routines and ongoing treatment regimens.

Another participant, Sal, called the sports program and other support services a “life saver” for his own recovery journey. WHYY is withholding his last name to maintain his requested anonymity in addiction recovery.

“Everything is surrounded with recovery and you’re with recovery people, in a recovery atmosphere,” Sal said. “You come through the depths of hell when you walk through these doors and then each day that goes by, you’re climbing out of it and it’s just a positive outlook on life. It’s a big deal.”

REAL Sports had been running for a couple of years before DiRenzo got involved through her work with the county. She became more active in the addiction and recovery communities after she lost her son, Salvatore Marchese, to a fatal heroin overdose in 2010.

She thinks this program could have helped her son, but now she wants to make sure other people have access.

“This is true to my heart,” DiRenzo said. “I love to see everybody happy, I love to see the no stigma, that they can come out and enjoy themselves and not be ashamed.”

The REAL Sports program is open to any Camden County resident in addiction recovery.