Swim Saturday To Support Teens In Recovery

SOUTH HARWICH – As they’ve done for the past dozen years, volunteers will be taking a brisk swim in the chilly waters of Nantucket Sound to support a program for Cape Cod teens struggling with substance abuse.

This year’s swim will take place on Saturday, Jan. 6 at noon at Red River Beach, South Harwich. The event is organized by Jan McGrory in memory of her daughter, Liz LeFort, who died of a drug overdose on Jan. 6, 2011, three days after she was released from a treatment center. LeFort had a bright future; she was an honors student and received a scholarship to Johnson and Wales University, but became addicted to heroin after trying prescription opioids.

The event raises money for RecoveryBuild’s Alternative Peer Group on Cape Cod.

“RecoveryBuild APG is a place where teens come together with their peers to build the tools and relationships to deal with their challenges under the guidance of licensed counselors and recovery coaches,” McGrory wrote in an online fundraising campaign page. As of early this week, the campaign had raised nearly $6,000 toward its $10,000 goal.

“We’re trying to get a big group there,” said Sheila House, another organizer.

An outgrowth of faith-based 12-step programs for youth, APGs are geared to support youth recovery. In one study group, students enrolled in APGs in addition to a recovery program showed an 85 percent sobriety rate, compared to a 30 percent rate for students who did not attend the APG.

Learn More: https://4agc.com/fundraiser_pages/f55ba269-754a-4bef-9a9d-8564e96f018c