A region of hope.
Inclusive Recovery Communities Tampa Bay is a movement to make recovery visible, supported, and fully part of community life — across Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
An Inclusive Recovery Community is a place that creates safe, welcoming spaces where people in recovery are supported, celebrated, and fully included in community life. It's built on three commitments: dignity, equity, and hope.
What "inclusive" means
Recovery looks different for everyone. We don't favor one program or pathway — 12-step, SMART, medication-assisted, faith-based, secular, and everything in between all belong here. The only requirement is that it helps someone move toward a life worth living.
Led by lived experience
The people closest to recovery lead this work. Each county has committed to forming a council led by people with lived experience, hosting recovery-focused events, embedding those voices in local policy, and adopting non-stigmatizing language.
Day-to-day direction comes from organizations rooted in lived experience, with official proclamations from county government affirming each county's commitment.
The first tri-county model in the nation
Pasco, Hillsborough, and Pinellas have each issued official proclamations naming themselves Inclusive Recovery Communities — together forming the first tri-county IRC initiative in the United States, and a shared region of hope.
Built on CHIME
Our work is grounded in the CHIME framework — Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning, and Empowerment — the five things research shows people need to thrive in recovery.
Recovery is real. Recovery should be visible. And recovery belongs everywhere — in our parks, our policies, our workplaces, and our hearts.
The Tampa Bay Inclusive Recovery Communities Initiative