Immersion Recovery Center raised thousands for a Delray Beach Police Department program that supports individuals and families in crisis. Immersion Recovery Center hosted the Annual Recovery Dodgeball Tournament, which drew more than 250 people, on Saturday, Jan. 13 at Pompey Park.

“This particular event is one that we put on every year, and it shows those new to recovery that they can still have fun without drugs or alcohol,” said Meredith Turnbull, events manager at Immersion Recovery Center.

The annual tournament benefits a different non-profit organization every year. This year, proceeds benefited the Delray Beach Police Department Community Advocacy Response Education Service program (CARES). The advocacy program, launched by the department in 2017, assists individuals and families coping with addiction, overdoses, mental illness, or homelessness. Specifically, CARES advocates work with individuals who have recently overdosed, helping them understand their resources and find addiction treatment that meets their individual needs.

“The CARES program assists with getting scholarship treatment for indigent individuals and works toward obtaining transportation funds to get them into treatment programs, sometimes getting them back to their homes in others states,” said Ariana Ciancio, LMHC, mental health advocate with the Delray Beach Police Department. “We plan to utilize the funds raised toward these scholarships and transportation.”

“There is such a need for services like CARES across the country, but especially with the opioid crisis we are currently facing in South Florida,” Turnbull said. “It was an honor to help organize an event to benefit the individuals affected by the opioid crisis in our community, especially those individuals without resources. Community outreach is integral to combating the crisis, and we are proud to have raised money for a program that’s making a real difference in our community.”

The tournament’s 20+ sponsors represent some of the nation’s leading addiction recovery and detox centers. In total, 31 teams participated in the tournament. Life of Purpose (Boca Raton) placed first and took home the championship trophy, and Transformations Treatment Center (Delray Beach) placed second.

About Immersion Recovery Center
Immersion Recovery Center is a residential addiction treatment center for men and women in Delray Beach, Fla. Clients take a pragmatic, daily approach to integrating the 12-step tenets into their lives and engage in a sophisticated curriculum that includes both dynamic clinical therapies and alternative modalities. As one of the only true immersion recovery programs in the United States, the center uses this fusion concept to help clients recover from alcoholism or drug addiction and deliver highly successful outcomes.