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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 above the waters of the Cooper River.
“Woo!” he exclaimed. “That was good.”
Behind him a group of men watched.
“It’s all because of Wii Golf, right?” one person joked and laughed.
“But seriously,” said Whiteside as he quickly placed another ball on the tee.
This fun outing was about more than just hitting a few golf balls. Whiteside and the others in the group that night are on the road to recovery from drugs and substance abuse addiction.
The weekly meetings are part of Camden County’s REAL Sports program, which uses physical activity as a means of fostering a community of support and encouragement for people learning to stay sober and recover from addiction.
For some, the golf outing is a kind of support meeting. Whiteside, who has been in rehab for more than six years and now works as a behavioral therapist at Epiphany Wellness Drug and Alcohol Rehab, said it can be a welcome change from the routine of counseling and therapy sessions.
“You can still find everyone to talk to, but at the same time you can have fun, do something competitive, sweat a little bit and wake up the next day a little sore,” he said. “Sometimes it feels good.”
The county started the REAL Sports program about a decade ago with golf. Over the years, softball, cornhole and bocce ball have been added. Soon, the program will expand to include pickleball and other activities such as gardening and horticulture.
But Patty DiRenzo, who works at the Camden County Office of Mental Health and Addiction, says the program’s core purpose is to create a safe space for recovering people to socialize and incorporate new skills into their daily lives.
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 on it, I’m in my recovery community, I’m happy, I’m getting better, I’m doing something,'” DiRenzo said. “I think that means a lot to them.”
Many of the participants come from residential care for the addicted, a housing model typically designed for people in the early stages of their addiction to drugs or alcohol. It can be a difficult time for people as they have to adjust to new routines and ongoing treatment plans.
