“People don’t matter. It’s only about the money.”
Jerry Ferguson, former resident of True Recovery RVA
Over the last five years, Virginia’s Medicaid expansions have dramatically increased access to addiction treatment, enabling thousands of people to obtain vital care they couldn’t otherwise afford. But alongside this progress, the growth of unregulated recovery housing has left many Medicaid-eligible residents vulnerable to exploitation.
When recovery house operators enter exclusive partnerships with clinical treatment providers, people battling addiction are often robbed of personal autonomy — a basic human right in healthcare — and steered into select outpatient programs for shared profit. Under these volume-driven arrangements, residents may receive substandard or ill-suited care while depleting the insurance benefits that could have supported quality treatment tailored to their needs.
Virginia has not yet been identified as a hotspot for this practice. But mounting evidence suggests it is pervasive in the Richmond area, and perpetrated by leaders of the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) — the very group that was entrusted with upholding ethical standards in certified recovery housing:
At WAR Foundation and True Recovery RVA, uninsured residents are reportedly pushed to apply for Medicaid immediately. Donna Booth, a former house manager for True Recovery, recalled staying up with new residents “until 3 or 4 in the morning” completing applications that “had to be done.”
Once enrolled, residents are funneled into River City Comprehensive Counseling Services’ Medicaid-funded Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), according to recent former residents as well as former employees of Imagine the Freedom Recovery Foundation — the nonprofit that provides shared staffing for True Recovery and WAR Foundation.
What residents want and need for their own treatment is irrelevant, they say. Both organizations have a laser-focused mission: to push as many bodies through River City IOP as possible. As one former employee put it: “They try to make it 100%.”
This practice violates policy of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) – VARR’s parent organization – which states:
The NARR policy further stipulates:
[Recovery residence operators] shall promote choice in all recommendations for external services and/or providers. Residents must always be empowered to choose or reject the external services and/or providers suggested by the residence’s owners/operators.
But at True Recovery and WAR Foundation, choice is reportedly off the table. “It is not part of the conversation at all,” said a former employee. “The intake assessment at River City is set up for [the residents].”
Referring to the River City-True Recovery-WAR Foundation network, the former employee added: “They play on the vulnerability of the participants being new and not understanding what’s going on.”
At True Recovery, internal communications and in-depth interviews provided a deeper look at how this process unfolds.
The pipeline from True Recovery to River City
True Recovery Owner David Rook confirmed his organization mandates IOP for residents who “qualify” for it.
We call and schedule [the IOP assessment]. Boom. They set up a phone call with you, you do the assessment. If you qualify, we put you in it. And then we try to make sure that you’re going when you’re supposed to be going.
At first, Rook denied forcing residents to use River City.
Can you engage in an IOP at Virginia Family Services? Yes. Can you do one via telemed at Farley? Yes. Do we use River City most of the time? Yeah, they’re in the fucking building. Of course we do.
Later, however, he admitted to the coercive dynamic:
What we’re really looking at is starting our own licensed company. … [We] still run into the same problem though. Because if I run it separately than True Recovery and then I make True Recovery people go into it, and they don’t have a choice to go to another one of their choosing, it’s a fine line. Because part of what we do is, you do what we say you do. So, if we say you go to River City, you go to River City. If we say you see Dr. Breslin, you see Dr. Breslin, as part of the program. But if you then own it and you’re saying go to it, then there’s a question.
River City Owner and CEO Jimmy Christmas did not agree to be interviewed. But shortly after he was alerted to this investigation, a Client Bill of Rights appeared on River City Residential Services’ website, proclaiming patients’ rights to decline services and to choose their own providers — language that, in one place, wasn’t entirely coherent:
The Client Bill of Rights ends with the following attestation:
In practice, former residents and employees say coercion defines the process by which residents make their way to River City IOP: True Recovery exploits their vulnerabilities, enforcing compliance through bribes, punishments, and threats of eviction or jail. Meanwhile, residents trying to recover face compounding stress and spend hours upon hours in outpatient treatment they describe as non-therapeutic at best.
Chelsie Taliaferro — a former house manager for True Recovery’s Hermitage House and a former employee of Imagine the Freedom — provided roughly three months of internal messages that shed light on the company’s practices.
The “Hermitage” group chat included:
- Caitlyn Fulcher, then-director of women’s programs
- Crystal Snodderly, then-director of operations and current CEO
- Taliaferro
- Other former house managers
I’ve redacted the names of house managers, who were also residents, to protect their privacy.
Bribing indigent residents
Taliaferro and others explained that residents who received just two weeks of rent assistance from True Recovery — funded by government grants — had to return the favor by going to River City IOP.
Hermitage chat messages support these claims. On three occasions, Caitlyn Fulcher indicated that two-week grants would only be provided to new residents if they enrolled in IOP.
Resident 1:
Resident 2:
Resident 3:
The next day…
“That 340” was the entrance fee: the first week’s rent plus a $200 intake fee.
Rook denied that True Recovery pays residents’ rent in exchange for their participation in IOP, but he didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Hermitage chat messages that suggest otherwise.
Under federal law, offering inducements to generate government-funded healthcare business is a crime. NARR policy also explicitly prohibits such practices:
[Operators] shall not under any circumstances participate in any form of inducement (i.e. solicitation, enticement or kickbacks). Examples could include but are not limited to free ‘rent’ or services in exchange for an insurance card…
[Operators] shall not offer inducements to residents or potential residents to enroll in additional services such as IOP/PHP/outpatient treatment. Examples of inducements could include free transportation and discounted residence fees.
In October 2022, VARR hosted the annual NARR Best Practices Summit in Richmond for the second consecutive year. Two summit presenters addressed the NARR policy on inducements.
Nancy Newman, corporate counsel for the Pennsylvania Alliance of Recovery Residences, presented on “Predatory and Unethical Practices in Recovery Housing,” highlighting the ethical breach of offering bribes to residents:
Benefits to residents that could be viewed as kickbacks or bribes. This stuff happens. I mean, we’re the good guys. We’re sitting at a NARR conference playing by the rules. But that’s not what’s happening everywhere. Some of this stuff that goes on is just outrageous. Discounted rents, travel, all to get these kickbacks … Those are things that are blatantly and patently unethical, illegal …
A text message written by Fulcher suggests River City may have also paid inducements to residents directly. The resident referenced in the following text was a participant in River City IOP.
According to Rook, River City did not offer residents’ rent in exchange for IOP participation, but neither he nor Christmas responded to requests for comment regarding the above message.
When IOP becomes a barrier to recovery
Residents were required to attend a minimum of three IOP sessions per week, each lasting three hours. Many said they were mandated to stay in the program for multiple months and found themselves in a bind when IOP outlasted their two-week grants.
Numerous residents reported that IOP made it impossible to support themselves while juggling the myriad responsibilities that come with living in a recovery house and being in early recovery: probation meetings, court appearances, community service, random drug screens, addiction medicine appointments, house meetings, and daily 12-step meetings, among other obligations. Limited access to transportation only compounded the challenge.
Former residents said True Recovery leadership showed little concern for these obstacles — a claim corroborated by the Hermitage chat messages:
In the following message, Fulcher stated residents were required to attend 90 mutual-aid meetings during their first 90 days at True Recovery — even on the same days they were mandated to attend three-hour IOP sessions.
The price of missing IOP
According to former residents and Hermitage chat messages, participants received sanctions for anything less than full compliance with River City IOP:
According to Rook, residents can avoid consequences if they have a “good reason” for opting out of IOP:
We might take away overnights or suspend phone privileges, or we might do nothing. They might have a good reason for not wanting to go [to IOP]. Maybe they had a former relationship with somebody in the group. Maybe they’d been in this counseling before. Maybe they want to seek individual counseling instead of IOP.
Former employees told me otherwise: one said residents who preferred individual counseling still had to attend IOP, and another said residents already seeing an outside therapist were still instructed to fill a seat at River City.
Beyond routine punishments, falling out of compliance with IOP could put residents at risk of eviction — which is exactly what happened to Danielle Atkinson.
In November 2021, Atkinson was released from Henrico County Jail to True Recovery under an agreed-upon court order. As is common for people released to sober homes from jail, her bond required compliance with the recovery home’s rules.
Virginia Code § 37.2-431.1 defines a recovery residence as a drug- and alcohol-free housing facility “that does not include clinical treatment services.” Recovery house rules typically include submitting to random drug screens, following curfews, and attending non-clinical mutual-aid groups, such as 12-step meetings.
But for Atkinson, as for many others, True Recovery added another rule: mandatory participation in River City IOP.
Atkinson said that before she enrolled, True Recovery staff told her River City helps pay residents’ rent and offers weekly gift cards for IOP attendance. But she never received either. Instead, True Recovery used the threat of jail to keep her in IOP.
Atkinson told me she was working full time to cover both her rent at True Recovery and her bills at the home she would eventually return to. Balancing IOP with her job and other program obligations was a constant struggle that often felt crippling.
“I don’t know how many times I just wanted to leave and do drugs,” she said. “And they don’t care.”
Atkinson read several text messages to me over the phone between herself and Fulcher, in which she explained why she could not fit IOP into her schedule. According to those messages, Fulcher replied, “These are the requirements. You’ll need to figure them out.”
Atkinson told Fulcher she was so stressed that she was “starting not to care anymore” and added, “This program is about to make me or someone else want to relapse.” Fulcher responded: “This is not up for discussion.”
Hermitage chat messages show that Atkinson was ultimately kicked out of her house and onto the streets for failing to comply with IOP. Fulcher initially offered the option to transfer to Eco Flats, a separate division of True Recovery, but then-Director of Operations Crystal Snodderly interjected: “She can pack her shit. No Eco.”
Mary McMasters — a physician, Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), and board member of the Virginia Society of Addiction Medicine (VASAM) – says forcing people into a one-size-fits-all treatment program, such as “IOP for everyone,” is “just wrong from top to bottom.” She added that punishment in healthcare “is not appropriate.”
When I relayed Atkinson’s experience, Dr. McMasters responded: “No, no, no, no.”
She continued:
I think it would be a very rare case where somebody who’s truly been evaluated appropriately, who has been determined to need IOP for their health, it would be a very rare case where you couldn’t work with them, build trust. And perhaps eventually they will trust you and trust what you’re saying, and then they will obtain the level of care that is appropriate for them. …
What would be rare would be coming to the decision that keeping them here is enabling them, making them sicker, so I need to use their living situation as leverage. Even if you did that, I think putting them out on the street would be incredibly inappropriate. I think you would need to find some place for them to go. Because it’s not just the level of care. It also involves where they get their meals from and where they sleep at night. … So, using [their living situation] as pressure, I think that would be extremely rare.
Rook offered a different perspective:
No matter how you come to True Recovery, you’re there voluntarily, even if you’re court ordered. Because you can voluntarily go back to jail. So you’re volunteering. You’re there voluntary, and you can leave at any point. You can walk out. There’s no locks on the doors. There’s no chains on the doors. We’re telling you to be a participant in this organization at the level we need you to be at and the things we want to be able to provide to help you. And you have to be willing to do those things. …
This is the way it goes. Do you want to go to True Recovery or do you want to stay in jail? Are you willing to do whatever it is they ask you to do? Yes. Within reason. Within ethical boundaries. Treatment is not outside of an ethical boundary. IOP is not. We say go to 12-step meetings, nobody questions us about that, even if we tell them which 12-step meetings to go to. Nobody complains about that. Was it disclosed before they got there? No, but it’s part of the program requirement. It’s disclosed when they get here. …
(Twelve-step meetings refer to peer-facilitated, mutual-aid groups — not healthcare services.)
Rook continued:
What most people say is, ‘I’ll do anything. I’ll walk up Broad Street in 2-degree weather with no shoes on to get out of jail.’ But then when they get out of jail, it’s like, ‘Oh fuck. I’m not even going to go to bed without my shoes on.’ …
The courts are trying to let people out to an organization that’s going to give these people what they need. So what they don’t understand is that we’re losing our ability to remove them from jail to get them back into the community unless we start implementing things that look like treatment. And so, fuck what looks like treatment. We’ll just offer it to you. We’ll partner with somebody and give it to you.
IOP evictions made easy
Until recently, noncompliance with IOP was not a legally valid reason to evict someone from a recovery house.
Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), landlords cannot evict tenants at whim. They may begin eviction proceedings only for limited reasons, such as nonpayment of rent or illegal activity on the premises. In the recovery housing sphere, however, it’s been common practice to immediately evict residents for failing a drug screen or violating house rules. While the VRLTA has not stopped operators from doing so, it has prevented them from enlisting law enforcement to remove residents who occasionally assert their rights.
Earlier this year, Rook worked with state Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) on legislation that stripped tenant protections from people living in certified recovery housing.
Enacted in April 2022 and effective July 1 of that year, the new law exempts certified recovery residence operators from the VRLTA.
On Feb. 4, 2022, Coyner told the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns:
Our recovery homes are homes that are there to protect everyone on their recovery journey. And it’s imperative that they remain sober homes. That’s why individuals choose to live together as a family unit to provide that safe space. … In sober living, it’s important that you can immediately remove someone if that becomes an unsafe situation for other residents.
The exemption, however, goes far beyond allowing a resident to be removed for safety reasons. It effectively empowers operators to immediately evict residents for any reason they choose, leaving tenants at the mercy of their landlords.
I raised this issue with Rook:
Doesn’t [the new law] also allow recovery houses to just evict for any reason at all, other than things that are protected by federal law like race, religion, etcetera?
Yeah, that’s the agreement, but it also protects the person that’s in the house. They have the right to discontinue that service at any time too. So, in the same way that a landlord has the right to come after you for money and file judgements against you, we can’t do all that stuff. … So I think that it kind of goes both ways.
Tenants in non-certified recovery residences are still protected under the VRLTA. In certified recovery homes, however, police can now assist in expelling a resident — even if the resident is guilty of nothing more than missing IOP.
Coyner did not respond to requests for comment.
River City’s therapeutic value in question
Because residents are forced into IOP, “they don’t take it seriously,” said a former employee of Imagine the Freedom. “Some people got something out of it, but most people just bitched about it the whole time,” she said. “They look at it like a forced chore, not some care that they have sought out.” Another former employee said “a lot” of residents did not want to be in River City IOP.
To keep up with their responsibilities and avoid punishments for noncompliance, many residents reportedly multitasked during online IOP sessions. Participants often attended virtual IOP while working their jobs or attending other required events — raising questions about the benefit they could have derived from this Medicaid-funded program.
After Atkinson was kicked out of True Recovery, she was accepted at WAR Foundation, where River City IOP was still mandatory. But she said the stress was mitigated because WAR Foundation allowed her to skip 12-step meetings on IOP days. Even so, her IOP sessions were held at the same time as her house meetings. As a result, she attended both simultaneously.
(In a May 2023 article, I published newly obtained text messages between staff and residents of another recovery housing organization, which confirm that River City IOP participants were often disengaged.)
Medicaid kickback allegations at True Recovery and WAR Foundation
To protect patients and taxpayers from exploitation, the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) make it a crime to offer or receive kickbacks for healthcare referrals.
When I asked Rook about his arrangement with River City, he told me True Recovery does not benefit financially from the setup – yet.
For sending all these participants to River City, is True Recovery or you personally [receiving] any type of incentive for that?
Nope.
No type of benefit of any kind?
We’ve looked to see how to do it. The only way to really do that is to license ourselves and provide it, because it just skirts … kickback laws and stuff like that. So, it skirts really close to that. We explore it. Like, could there be a way for us to, you know, for all the time that we spend doing it? But we haven’t been able to figure out yet where a lawyer likes it. So, we’ve looked at it, but we haven’t figured it out yet. But it won’t be an incentive, because that’s what we have to avoid. It’ll have to be for a service we provide. So, until we can figure out what service it is that we provide, I mean, it can’t be transportation. They walk upstairs. … I would like to figure out a way to get more money into True Recovery somehow but we haven’t been able to figure that out yet.
However, a source close to an individual with direct knowledge of True Recovery’s and WAR Foundation’s internal operations reported that both organizations have already been receiving financial compensation from River City in exchange for sending residents to IOP. A second source, who previously worked at the Parham Road center, said they listened to a phone call in which Rook discussed the compensation that both True Recovery and WAR Foundation received for referring those residents to River City.
Without access to these companies’ financial records, it’s impossible to confirm whether kickbacks are being paid. But the totality of indicators — forced IOP at River City, bribes for IOP enrollment, punishments and eviction for noncompliance, and testimonies of confidential sources — strongly point to such corrupt partnerships, with no alternative logical explanation.
NARR policy states operators are expected “to avoid any and all activities that create even the appearance of unethical practices.”
To the residents who find themselves pushed through River City IOP, the optics are glaring. Former employees and residents described a widespread perception that participants are being sold for Medicaid dollars. As Danielle Atkinson put it, “They’re swiping my insurance card every chance they get to get that money.” And in the words of a former employee, referring to the River City-True Recovery-WAR Foundation network: “They are all taken over with greed.”
Addiction professionals say perception matters.
“[Patients] are not going to come back and see me if they think … that my first priority is making money off of them,” said Dr. McMasters. “They’re probably going to go off and die somewhere.” She added: “It’s a notorious problem, all the money that is made off of people with the disease of addiction and their families.”
I raised raised the issue of perception with Rook:
The perception from a lot of participants is that they’re being forced to go to IOP so that True Recovery can get payments from River City.
[That] probably is the perception, but that’s the perception about everything. It’s always all about money. You talk about a rumor, that’s the rumor we hear the most, that it’s all about the money.
Do you consider that to be a problem at all, that there’s this perception?
I’ve heard it since I was at McShin. It’s never been the truth about that organization or our organization or any other organization. Every organization has goals. We can’t keep the doors open unless we’re profitable. I have four kids to take care of. … I’m not some bleeding heart that thinks people in the human services business shouldn’t make money either. It’s the hardest fucking work you’ll ever fucking do. It’s the most demanding. People talk shit about you. People are always looking for something you’re doing bad or wrong. I think we all do it because there’s a calling or a passion for it.
River City kickback offer alleged at Evolution House
In October, I received a tip that Jimmy Christmas offered kickbacks for IOP referrals to Ryan Whatley and Jeffrey Carver, owners of the VARR-accredited Evolution House in Williamsburg. When I reached out to Whatley, he thanked me for calling, said he agreed it was an important issue, but told me he couldn’t comment at that time. Carver did not return my call.
Not long after, two community professionals reported separate conversations with the owners about kickbacks. One said they spoke with Whatley; the other said they spoke with both men. Both sources requested anonymity, citing fear of repercussions.
According to their accounts, Whatley and Carver said Christmas approached them with a “deal”: $400 for every resident they referred to River City IOP.
When I reached out to the owners again, Carver responded by text. One detail that did not survive my editing process has been redacted from the exchange:
Jimmy Christmas, Anthony Grimes and Kate Grimes did not agree to be interviewed for this project. They did not respond to questions or requests for comment.
If you participated in an IOP while living in a recovery house, or if you have any information related to this investigation, please contact me.
The next installment follows millions in public funding that has flowed to the VARR office with little oversight.
Who controls the money? Who benefits? And who pays the price?
This article was edited for clarity and readability. No changes were made to the content.
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1. Under Virginia regulations, “Providers shall not deliver any service to an individual without an (Individualized Service Plan) that is tailored specifically to the needs and expressed preferences of the individual.” Every individual has the right to “consent or not consent to receive or participate in services.” Providers who violate patient rights can lose their license to practice. [Return to article]
Christa, why did you leave out since implementing a requirement to participate in treatment along with recovery support services barries to recovery and unmet service needs are drastically reduced ? Why did you not report that our average length stay has increased from about 89 dayst o over 200 days. I was certainly unaware that anyone was required to do iop and twelve step meetings at the same time. It is not our policy to attend both the same day.
David, how are you going to sit here and try and talk your way out of this bullshit? Not only did you forget where you came from, your whole organization, particularly [True Recovery employee name redacted], seems to find joy in dictating peoples lives. How many have died because you sent them back to the street for being your puppets? And how can you have any integrity in your fight now when you’re not even clean yourself. When you do it for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t work out. It’s just shocking to me how big of a network of well known addicts around here are a party to this. If you think IOP helps keep people clean, then allow them the freedom to pick an IOP. Any other way shows a bias, not a hope for freedom from addiction.
David,
Are you deliberately omitting the tacit quid pro quo and general air of malfeasance that arises when courts release individuals to your programs with terms of their bond being that they comply with certain requirements, say for instance, that they attend an IOP, an IOP owned and operated by a company that you have financial ties to (to wit River City, anything owned by JC). Spare us all the “yes people in recovery must attend treatment, it is a requirement of our program that they attend an IOP” because for one, You cannot force someone to attend something for which they do not meet diagnostic or ASAM criteria for starters, and many individuals who are being released from jail, especially those who have completed, for instance HARP program. I thought this was the program you started, after your departure from McShinn. I may be wrong as there is no mention of your name on the HARP website, but that could have more to do with your recent criminal history available as part of public record through Henrico Circuit Court. As you are well aware there is no defamation issue here and sharing your recent convictions/pleas whatever is soundly protected as first amendment protects truthful statements, and for public figures (which sadly you may be), the bar is set even higher, requiring you prove actual malice. It’s ironic that I’m using my first amendment rights to share information about you running afoul of, and having your second amendment rights curtailed if not outright revoked. Your departure from McShinn was also shrouded in secrecy and what any man with a shred of dignity and integrity would experience as shame. One would like to think that a trusted servant tasked with other newly sober individuals’ recovery would view diverting buprenorphine to participants as a hard line in the sand. Maybe you just thought of yourself as the Robin Hood of medication assisted treatment. What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror?
I just want to say ive known all of these people for almost ten years. I was incarcerated with [True Recovery employee name redacted] and [True Recovery employee name redacted] and they seemed to have forgotten where they came from. My boyfriend went into true recovery on his own, wAs not told by probation or courts to go, but he had been in a bad accident and his back was broken so he tried to stay any ways but was having trouble doing chores and going to meetings because he was still in a back brace so he left and they immediately accused him of using when they found a drug fold
Outside of THERE car and called his probation officer. even though he was not mandated and lied and said if he got into a different house or outpatient within 24 hours they wouldn’t call. But they did anyways even after he found something else. I’ve seen most of them date people actively using and failing but switching out there pee so no one would know and selling suboxone and they have the nerve to kick someone out or call someone’s Po and say they can’t “talk to them like that” even though they’re scammers who do not care! There rude and u professional. And I am SO glad the truths coming out because I’ve been saying this for years that it’s not right that they kick people out for using when there addicts there going to relapse sometimes and they’re there for help, They’re not going to change over night! It’s so wrong! Using peoples addictions to make a life for themselves for the WRONG REASONS, Not because they care! I commend you for calling them out it’s way overdue!
I worked for River City for 9 years until 2018 when I left to pursue an engineering degree from UVA. During my time at River City, the company’s moral and ethical practices were beyond reproach, as evidence by many favorable audits by DBHDS and DMAS.
The amount and type of in-kind services that River City offered is too vast to list. The suggestion of greed and predatory behavior on clients was not experienced by me while I worked there.
Jimmy Christmas’ integrity, professionalism, mentorship, and client care is unmatched in any human service professional I’ve worked with or encountered, and I’ve worked with many.
The tone and implications in this article are not consistent with the Jimmy Christmas I’ve known personally and professionally for 13 years.
Wes,
While I do appreciate your sentimental comment…. You’ve been out of the game for far too long to understand and see what’s going on here.
This IOP operation just started within the last few years. I have spoken with many people who are grappling with this news and truth about Jimmy Christmas. He is by far the better man out of the folks discussed in this blog. His mistake was going into business with the Grimies and Rook/Mundie.
Lesson learned. There will be a price to pay.
Lol “I went to UVA”
Can you explain how you going to UVA is an important piece of information relative to this story in any way?
Hey Christa, it’s Jerry. If you still have my contact info, I found some of those photos it you’re interested.
I have so many thoughts about this.
I am an addict with over 8 years sober. I would like to know if the reporter is an addict? I’m going to guess, no. If my guess is wrong, forgive me.
#1. I know Jimmy. I have known Jimmy for many years and 2 years ago, I sent my daughter to one of his programs. Willingly.
#2 These are addicts we’re dealing with. We dont like to be told what to do, we think everyone is out to get us, we have no discipline, direction, structure. All our early teachings on obedience were long forgotten on our drug fueled hazy highway of immorality, theft, deception and hatred of ourselves.
#3 EVERY rehabilitation facility should have very strict structure. If they don’t, no addict should be going to it.
#4 Every single rehabilitation facility in my long and tortured relationship with addiction by myself and then my babies….has had their own programs they choose to use. Maybe they got sober via the modality presented, maybe they believe in the principles the programs provide. Are they supposed to not get paid? By that logic, perhaps this author deserves zero compensation.
#5 if these “sources” are so golden, why are they hiding? Why not come forward and stand tall in your “truth?” Recovery, after all, is about owning our own shit.
#6 This author lost any respect I may have had when she chose to use names she was very clearly asked to redact. (Why redact some, but share screenshots of others asking you to remove their names?) That’s not journalism. That’s trashy.
#7 I sincerely hope, that on your witchhunt, you have not been the small breeze someone needed as an excuse to use.
#1 Yet you don’t want to leave your name…?
#2 Following suit, I see.
#3 “Recovery is about owning your own shit.”
#4 I’ll do the same.
#5 You clearly have no clue the level of corruption going on Soon you will see.
# 6 We don’t have to use no matter what. You should know that with 8 years in.
# 7 If someone is going to use this blog as an excuse to use, they were already well on their way. Stop co-signing that sick shit.
To include my information is to break another’s anonymity.
My guess is nobody likes to talk to you about religion or politics either🤣. She showed a ton of screenshots verifying what she’s said so far and I’m sure she will have plenty of evidence in the next article as well. Just because you think someone in the article is a stand up guy and your daughter attended his program has no bearing on what she’s saying. Obviously your mind is made up so might as well stop reading. Also, it’s hilarious you’re going to suggest this article might cause someone to relapse and not even acknowledge the screenshots where an addict is crying and saying she wants to and gets completely shut down with zero compassion. You’re a close minded, judgmental individual just FYI in case your sponsor never pointed it out on your 4th step
Ummm … she hasn’t received any compensation. Do you see ads on this site? From what source would you imagine she would receive compensation?
“The cream always rises to the top”
The audacity of you to make money off of people with a disease. Like taking advantage of elders in a nursing home. Recovery used to be about care, compassion and concern. A lot has changed now that government funding has come available and definitely not in positive ways. I believe in the 12 step program and I know first hand working the steps works. However, supporting a “lifestyle of the rich and famous” is not what recovery is about. We need to go back to the basics and keep it simple. I know more than I should know about most of these people that are trying to “show” others how to live and I am disgusted and at times ashamed to even be in recovery.
Shame on the ones that know they are doing wrong and profiting off of people with a disease. Our lives our not yours to alter viciously. I believe in karma and have already starting seeing it come for the ones who deserve her vengeance.
Integrity is the foundation of my recovery
I’m sitting here reading this shaking my head. Now I am one that just completed the True Recovery Program and even though what’s going on now, they did have a lot in saving my life and helping me. However I was one that they didn’t mess with nor pick with. I seen so much the 8 months I was there. I said from the beginning they do what they want, and if they don’t like you, they make it very hard for you to complete the program. How do you come back off a 8 plus month binge and become house manager in 30 days, because you are there friend. I was sickened with all the stuff I seen. I was house manger also so I heard a lot behind the scenes. We come for help and if you don’t like us and weren’t not your friend our life doesn’t matter. Yes they all forgot where they came fron
I was a participant in the war foundation and I was forced to do IOP. Like it stated it wasnt a choice I was forced to do it or I had to leave. Also they never told me I could do it anywhere else. River city or bust.
They are def making a shit load of money off of every person that does IOP. I’m glad this stuff is coming out and I hope they are are held accountable. I encourage everyone who ever had To do it to share your experience and come forward.
Monopoly: NOUN
1 exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action
2 exclusive possession or control
“no country has a monopoly on morality or truth” —Helen M. Lynd
3 a commodity controlled by one party
“had a monopoly on flint from their quarries”
—Barbara A. Leitch
4 one that has a monopoly
“The government passed laws intended to break up monopolies.”
Who has the monopoly in this scenario?
Owners of river city, war foundation and true recovery
Did you read?
I did … and I fail to see how anyone has a monopoly on anything. There are numerous places to get therapy and many other recovery houses and recovery organizations.
I called this months ago when I was a participant in WAR. I was henrico county contract. I was bonded out to the program. I finished it. However, I was told I have to comply with IOP I had to work my work schedule around it otherwise I would’ve been in trouble, which potentially would of put me back to jail. [Name redacted] is a snake in the grass. These people forget where they came from. Y’all used to be addicts yourself: and let’s not talk about [name redacted] who just [redacted]. Or [name redacted] who was “trickin” with a participants girlfriend then out of spite supposedly went to the courts and tried to get the boyfriend in trouble with drug court. Pathetic. We all know the truth. This blog is awesome.
Jimmy Christmas is a good dude.
Anthony Grimes is as well. All the others are a joke. Point blank.
I think a jaguar might be the least of our worries!
Who drives a jaguar lol
I know it’s one of them
Where there’s a trough there will be pigs.
Too many unscrupulous cooks who more than happy to tell you how awesome, ethical, and amazing they are and that anything you may hear to the contrary are the bitter rumblings of disgruntled clients and jealous competitors.
Ethical…..
Dear god, I’ll pray for you, whoever you are.
This stuff, at minimum, is highly unethical.
I can’t wait to read more about the stellar and ethical stuff these people are doing though.
I’m going to take a stab and say you must be a cook who is friends with them. Just a guess.
Disgruntled clients… possibly.
I wonder why they are all so disgruntled.
Sure, from time to time that may be the case. But, if that’s the “defense” here… keep searching. That isn’t going to work.
People are mad because this is the truth and it’s been going on for far too long.
I’ll tell you why I am.
I’ve lived at both War and True Recovery.
These people let greed and power take over their businesses. It’s not about helping people anymore. They aren’t very kind people either.
I guess reading isn’t your thing. This person is clearly calling them unethical. He called them “unscrupulous.” He’s saying that they will TELL YOU that they’re ethical. He’s not calling them ethical. I’m not sure why both of you keep calling them “cooks,” but whatever.
Yes, that was my mistake. I misread and if I’m being honest, no reading isn’t my thing. Glad we are all on the same page. 👍🏻👍🏻
No worries. I left a word out in my comment that probably made it more confusing to read, so apparently typing isn’t my thing, either. But yes, we are on the same page.
By “cooks” I was referring to “too many cooks spoiling the broth”. Too many hands involved making it messier.
If these people have nothing to hide then why don’t they go ahead and open up their books to the public.
I like the way that the folks that own these recovery houses are all on the board of the organization that is suppose to be regulating them. I also think the public should be aware of the Real Estate these people own. Not so many years ago they were all homeless and just out of jail. Talk about comebacks! Karma is real. Using and abusing Funds intended help the sick and suffering will come back to them.
Too much money & too little oversight equals too much temptation. Once again, the most vulnerable are used as a catalyst for exploitation. What seemingly began as a service industry has quickly evolved to a money grab doing disservice to those so vulnerable & in need of help that they will do anything without the understanding that there are options not being shared with them. It’s shameful.
Any form of spirituality and doing the right thing to help people left these peoples hearts and minds a long time ago. Money property and prestige took over and now it’s a game they play. Buying range rovers and $5k Gucci purses and shit running recovery houses and they aren’t even clean. We see right through it. Your game isn’t hard to peep. But it’s coming to a stop now. I’m here for all that’s coming next.
its impossible for people to make money on the previous jobs. I didn’t know you made minimum wage working at a bank for 20 years.
Some of these people that run these houses have been using themselves, while telling the clients how to stay clean. As well as the use of things like Kratom or delta weed from smoke shops. Lots of chatter in the community of sleeping with clients for privileges. I’m sure this will all come out eventually but it’s just sad to see. I’m not sure if I would have made it if things were like this years ago when I got sober. 🤦♀️
The fraudulent use of Medicaid, forcing participants into services and even religious practices they’re unwilling/opposed to, and the sexual misconduct between participants and those providing recovery guidance is not just happening within these organizations. This is common in an absurd amount of recovery organizations not just the residential programs.
Medicaid is almost always the first thing “handled” within these organizations. While I think it’s great that these participants are getting access to healthcare, these organizations are pushing Medicaid enrollment for monetary incentives in one form or another.
If they’re not forcing you into an IOP/treatment without providing alternative options should their go to not be the pathway to your recovery, almost ALL of these organizations force a religious agenda upon its participants as many are backed by various churches.
We’ve all heard about the “13th step” commonly believed to be fraternization between participants or others involved in 12step programs but it’s especially common to have intimate and inappropriate relationships occur between participants and those overseeing their recovery.
I truly believe that those who initially enter into the business of recovery do so with the intention to help others but we all know what the road to hell is paved with.
I don’t really see what the big deal is here? Takes money to save life’s and keep people off the street who don’t have resources….
Shoutout to Journey House for being the best VARR Org!
Writer isn’t an addict. That’s for sure.
Any sort of treatment program is going to have a curriculum for their clients. If the client isn’t willing to adhere to the guidelines, they’re taking up space for someone who would. It’s that simple. Try to find a business, dentist, doctor, therapist, that will provide services or try to work with you WITHOUT payment. VARR Organizations do cartwheels trying to help ANYONE!
Hey friend,
It is normal to have a curriculum at a treatment facility. It’s not normal to mandate a single provider or force a type of treatment on someone that clearly interferes with their personal recovery journey to a point that they are telling staff that they want to use over it and receive zero compassion or empathy. It’s not normal to be kicked out of a facility because of one staff member being a bully. Even Rook clearly stated that what Caitlyn was doing was against their policy. Also, you’re right it does take money to keep the lights on and help people. Think about how many more people could have been helped all over the state if the grant money had been distributed as intended. There were multiple other places that should have received some of those funds but didn’t and we’re forced to close houses and turn people away. I’m glad the Richmond area providers got money to help people, but they should have shared those funds to allow more people access to recovery services as was the intended purpose of the grant.
Good morning I know what you mean. As a matter of fact I was in this certain program last year where my roommate was murdered by one of our house managers. I had a capius charge out of Hampton,so I was locked up also on the night of his murder. I was shipped to your Richmond jail and no one from that program reached out and see how I was even doing. What makes it even worse I tried to forlorn the staff the something wasn’t right about the house manager but it fell on deaf ears. I am still having nightmares about what happened to my roomate.
This is well done and I think this is important work. However, I get the sense that a lot of the “sources” in this piece are disgruntled clients who found themselves in a situation where they had to chose an option to avoid jail time or other consequences (homelessness, etc.) for their choices and actions, chose these specific recovery program options, then disagreed with the help they were being offered and became resentful when they weren’t given the authority to call the shots the way they wanted. I agree with Christmas, it’s voluntary, you can voluntarily choose to return to jail and deal with the consequences of your actions, or you can comply with the requirements of the program that you chose in order to avoid jail time or homelessness. Sound exploitative? Ok. Go to jail. It is much less exploitative /s. Sometimes the program requirements might include being required to attend IOPs that conflict with work, or other things you “want” to do or “think you need to do.” Tough titty. Figure it out or go back to jail. What’s important? Your recovery and freedom or your job? The lesson is clear, sometimes we have to do things that are inconvenient and we don’t want to do in order to properly prioritize our recovery. Sometimes recovery requires sacrifice. We have to listen and take suggestions (sublte commads) even when we don’t believe that it will help us. Sometimes the suggestions (requirements) we most disagree with are the ones that will help us the most. You don’t get to ask for help then tell someone how to help you. If I could say one thing to these addicts it would be to remind them that “YOU put YOU in this position.” Slop blaming everyone else and trying to “expose the system.” Dr. McMasters has a medical “opinion” about how to best treat addicts and she tends to drift towards the “client-driven” approach. Addicts in real recovery recognize themselves as the problem. When an addict is telling themselves what’s best for themselves, they end up in trouble. For this reason, I doubt McMasters has had any long-term success with addicts. Can we get some stats on her? The easier, softer way, i,e. the conventient, client-driven, “I call all the shots because I am in charge” approach to recovery fails every time. I’ve met many folks in recovery like those driving this story and it’s always the same song and dance: “boohoo, poor me, it’s all about the money, no one cares about me, I’m the victim, I should be allowed to work where and when I want, I shouldn’t have to go to these stupid IOP meetings, you’re going to make me get high and use again, it will be YOUR fault not mine, you just want my insurance money, whine whine whine.” This is nothing new. You can disagree with the recovery models but I don’t think they’re corrupt or illegal like they’re being presented here. You’re just giving some butthurt addicts a platform to conduct a public poutfest. Addicts who want to fix, manage, and control everything and think that being unable to do so amounts to unjust and unfair persecution that justifies them getting high. It’s always everyone else’s fault. I’m not saying all these recovery programs are perfect and completely pure in every way, but people can vote with their feet. This is all soaked in self-pity, jealousy, and resentment (not the author, I think the author’s heart is in the right place). I’ll stay tuned for the future installements with an open-mind but, from the jump, I’d take a close look at the folks who put this battery in your back. I think that what the author is defining as “corruption” is realy a conflict between two opposing camps in recovery philosophy: the camp of compassion and the camp of those with spine. Addicts will exploit compassion; so who is seeking to exploit who? The clients in this story are unsatsified with their positon as “client.” They want to be the President, the Executive Director, the House Manager, the Doctor, and the Therapist because they believe they can do it better.
Z,
I agree with many of your points, but I do not feel they are mutually exclusive to many of the serious issues the author has brought up. I want to start with the point about the program being voluntary and that people should either comply or go back to jail. When these people are wanting to go into the program, they are not being told exactly what is required (IOP being one of those things). When most people think about going to live in a recovery house, I think it’s fair to say that most think about a place to live where the residents will not be using drugs. The true breadth of what is required of them is not disclosed until after they are in their custody.
Also, I’d like to point out the serious conflicts of interest that bring the requirements into question. If these people are getting kickbacks for sending people to IOP (which it seems like there is evidence to suggest they are), it really brings into question the motivations behind these operators. Are they really concerned about helping, or is it about getting as much money as possible? Are they even concerned that it’s effective? Especially considering what this author has brought up about being able to do IOP over your phone and just having to log in and not pay attention to anything.
You also mention the “client driven” approach. This is akin to the social model of recovery, which NARR and VARR both claim to provide. The social model of recovery states that it’s imperative that residents have the freedom to choose external services and providers. I think we can see the inherent downfall of having all choice removed about your own medical decisions. On that same note, these operators who are having folks turned over to their custody, they are not medical providers. They are basically landlords. Who are they to say what medical services people need or do not need? When I think about the NA program, something I think we can agree that works, I think one of the main reasons it works is that no one is forced to do anything. No one is standing at the door to prevent people from leaving. Everyone in NA is “in charge”, as you put it, of their own recovery.
Addicts are well known for playing the victim and getting into self-pity. That does not mean that these people quoted in the article haven’t been mistreated. Those things are not mutually exclusive. I think the pattern of these operators trying to get as much money as possible lends some credence to these ex-participants claims of feeling like just a dollar sign.
And you said they can’t vote with their feet. But can they really? They are court ordered to a program, only afterwards find out there are many additional requirements, and are pretty much stuck. Having a job is just as important to recovery as going to meetings. Part of taking responsibility for your life is being able to pay your bills. Telling someone that they can’t keep their job so they can go to a questionable IOP program, in my opinion, is not conducive to recovery.
Lastly, as far as corruption goes, kickbacks are illegal. Inducing participants into your IOP program is illegal. Not disclosing to folks what is required is unethical. Not applying fair standards to everyone (i.e. friends of operators get away with whatever they want) is unethical.
Rosco! Appreciate the thoughtful feedback. This is a great discussion to have and I’m glad the author has had the courage and devotion to shine a light on all of this. I hope that all the engagement with her work gets her some well-deserved attention. I mean that genuinely.
I don’t disagree with everything you said. I’ll respond to some points, but probably out of order.
I think the author is trying to make the point that by backing up real far and squinting your eyes, you can kind of see the nebulous outline of a system that is arranged in a manner that allows individuals to pursue their personal interests and sometimes those interests aren’t in the best interest of some people. That’s not necessarily a crime, by the way – that’s America. You’re looking at a blurry picture of every system in America. We can question people’s motives all day: are they really about helping people or are they only about the money? If they truly desire to help folks then it stands to reason that they likely believe they can best accomplish that with as much money as possible. I don’t think “being all about the money” and “being all about helping people” are, as you put it, mutually exclusive either. I think you can be both. In fact, I think that you should be both. For you to truly be all about helping people, to some degree you must also be all about the money that is needed to help those people. Maybe more will be revealed in future installments. The personal gain is not clear to me so far; the most lavish personal luxury mentioned was a used Jaguar someone bought – how exactly are these people benefiting? Do they all just have huge savings accounts? Tons of personal property? Investments? The money appears to be all accounted for. I think I saw some potential for misuse related to groceries and utility bills – but potential for misuse is not evidence of misuse. I’m just waiting to see the “crime” or the evidence of a crime. Are they poorly stewarding resources? I think that case has been well made. So what’s the solution? Is someone going to compete with them for those resources? Is someone going to throw their hat in the ring to do it better? Then, will we look at those people from the other corner of our eyes? I think we should. Like I said, the author has done a lot of good work – this type of work keep folks honest and accountable. Are these actors the most ethical people ever to walk the Earth? No. Unethical, by the way, is subjective, illegal is objective. If there’s a fight to be fought, fight it. Take the evidence to the authorities, and follow due process in court. It isn’t clear to me from any installment thus far that “kickbacks” of the illegal variety have yet been proven – only alleged. There is obvioulsy some shady politics at work here, but that’s a redundant observation. Politics be shady. Perhaps I’m just impatient and the shoe will drop in one of the remaining 7-8 installments. I’ll definitely stay tuned to find out!
I said people can vote with their feet and you responded, “Can they really?” and I think you’re right. When people commit crimes or end up in desperate situations because of addiction, they indeed often lose the right to vote with their feet. The fact that they are given an option other than jail is a mercy in the instances where the law has truly been broken. Connecting that to your first point, accepting a deal that involves forfeiting a known consequence (jail time) for an unknown consequence (ambiguous program requirments) is always a choice and a risk many folks are willing to take. I’d restate at this point that it’s a choice people end up having to make as a result of their own actions. Is it fair? I think we’re asking the wrong people. Let’s ask the vicitim of the crime the person commited (the person who was stolen from, abused, or lied to; the person who pays higher prices for goods due to loss from theft, the person whose loved one was killed by a drunk or high driver, the child whose parent OD-ed, etc.) if the defendant is being treated fairly by being given an opportunity to avoid jail time in exchange for limited freedom and strict program requirements. Ask the real victims about the ethics of some unexpected program requirements. By the way, learning to have healthy encounters with unexpected expectations can be a key component of recovery. Maybe some of the program ambiguity and secrecy is designed to help addicts and they just don’t like how it “feels.”
The virtual IOP you mentioned, as I understood it, was a concession made for clients who couldn’t attend in-person due to personal obligations, and rather than violate them, or report them as noncompliant, were provided an alternative. Now I’m confused. Should they have enforced the requirement without making special accommodations? I thought that was the thing being raved against here: requiring rigid adherance to program requirements? I agree that the IOPs are probably ineffective. Most are. But that’s an entirely different conversation. The scope of the conversation is becoming way too broad and thus losing potency. I think most programs that people are compelled by an external authority to attend are ineffective. Perhaps we should stop court-ordering recovery programs altogether? I could be convinced to support that. I know of some local high-dollar, luxury treatment facilities that pillage private insurance, don’t even accept Medicaid, and are an absolute joke to people in the serious world of recovery. They have incentive to discharge clients as quickly as possible, for any reason at all, because once they’ve secured the insurance coverage they need to make room for the next addict-commodity. Sorry, outside issue. lol. I’m just saying, in your words, “not applying the same standards to everyone is unethical.”
The social model of recovery is one model. There are faith-based models, medically-assisted models, abstinence-only based models, and innumerable individualized models, etc. There are many different paths to recovery. I personally know people who got clean in jail with no program, people who got clean by taking a naked walk in the woods after microdosing mushrooms, people who got clean in NA, people who are perpetually perscribed suboxone, people who substituted knitting for crack smoking, etc. I personally believe that the therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel. The point is: every addict can’t help every addict. Therse programs that are being attacked, when rightly understood by addicts, can be the scaffolding, the context, the support & aids that can sometimes help an addict find recovery. There’s no silver bullet. If we attacked everything that didn’t work for every body in every situation, then we’d attack everything. If people don’t find recovery in the recovery-house model, go back to jail for the law you broke, do your time, and try something else. If you’re not looking for a recovery house as a means to avoid jail time, and you don’t like the way the program works, leave and try a different path to recovery. This is the true client-driven approach. People always have the freedom to to find what works from them; but that doesn’t mean they have the freedom to change established programs that don’t work for them in spite of others, and they don’t have the freedom to determine the consequences of their own actions. You can always choose your actions, you can never choose your consequences.
I want to add a few points of clarification. I’m a naturally cynical and skeptical person who suffers from delusions of extreme self-importance. Upon further reflection, it is clear to me that my cynicism and skepticism has been misplaced in this instance. As an addict who works closely yet nonvocationally with men in recovery, my perspective of the issues presented by the author is skewed by years of working with men who blame others for their actions and attempt to leverage outlandish claims of injustice and mistreatment when confronted with the consequences of their own actions. Typically, myself, as a sponsor, and the staff at recovery programs including recovery houses are the main targets of such claims. I’m also hypersensitive to this type of thing because I am personally guilty of this type of thing. It takes one to know one, as they say. However, I know firsthand that even a broken clock is right twice a day, and the facts and information that have been uncovered thus far in the series clearly indicate unethical and corrupt behavior beyond mere verisimilitude – the story has legs and the claims have merit. I, for one, hope these clowns get their comeuppance – not only for stealing money intended to help a population of people dear to my heart, but for also violating the turst of people such as myself who, out of a false sense of loyalty to false brothers and sisters in recovery, would unquestioningly defend them against such allegations. I am grateful for this piece as it has given me an opportunity to reflect on my own personal biases by presenting a truly objective and clear picture of the truth. I personally know a few of the actors mentioned in this series including: JW, BC, MT and his son JT, and several men who work at River City facilities, among others. I won’t violate anonymity by disclosing specific names but the initials listed above have all been mentioned by name in the content above. The men I know personally are upright men of integrity. It was with them in mind that I expressed the sentiments of doubt in my comments above. My self-righteous indignation caused me to veer off topic and introduce recovery-related issues that are not at all relevant to this masterful, investigative piece. My comments were public, so my retractions must be also. As for the other men, the main characters exposed in this series, their reputations are well know in the central VA recovery community and we are all eager to see these scum bags get what’s coming to them. Thank you, Christa for your bravery, persistence, and perseverance.
Hello all. What I do know is in the process of “getting clean” it’s great to have structure, rules and discipline. I am coming up on 7 years clean and sober and what I can say is when I first started my process if I was pushed into something I would of ran. I feel to overwhelm an addict is to send them down a spiral. There’s a reason why it’s just for today. We are told to become productive members of society so for someone that’s gotten a job and goes to meetings and uses their network that’s progress. To do all of that and force someone to do something else that creates stress or any other mental problems to me is the same thing as selling them drugs. It’s called recovery for a reason. That reason is getting better. To take advantage of an addict that doesn’t know how to live and not use their feelings is a form of manipulation and is out right wrong. To have someone pay what they pay and to live in a “trap house” environment is proof that people are in it for the money. My opinion doesn’t matter but what I can say is a lot of what’s said up top is criminal and out right disrespectful to the person that needs help and just straight up wrong for someone to do it. Proof is in the pudding so all I’m going to ask is what’s right and what’s wrong? I came through a program and I can say it was not one of these mentioned. I’m happy that this was brought to the attention of addicts that need to see what really goes on behind closed doors. I know my literature does not say we’re to be forced into something but we as addicts have different paths to recovery.
For full transparency, I’m a former participant at True Recovery.
My guess is that a lot of these people either don’t have experience in recovery, or need recovery but haven’t learned how to be accountable yet. After reading this, my only real takeaway is that True Recovery has rules for their participants to follow, and if you don’t follow the rules then you don’t get to stay in the program. This sounds like any program I’ve ever been in. The reality of it is that as addicts (in early recovery) we tend to make excuses and look for the easy way out of things, and these are measures taken by people that know this. Can it be difficult to manage at times? Sure, but that is why recovery takes a level of willingness. Myself and plenty of others have gone through this program and had their lives changed thanks to the guidance of some of these people being mentioned.
As far as the screenshots relating to IOP go, it sounds like IOP might be a requirement for someone receiving a grant as opposed to paying out of pocket, as opposed to “trading” rent for IOP enrollment.
How many of the “Peers” who are running these agencies are certified as peer recovery specialists? Are staff, owners, and VARR board members expected to be active and successful in their own Recovery as evidenced by random substance use screening or Shared Recovery Plans? What regulations exist regarding housing owners use of resident labor to maintain properties they own or other businesses from which they benefit – landscaping, painting, etc.” Where is recap data shared publicly to provide transparency and analysis of the degree to which individuals in VARR and DBHDS- supported houses are connecting with positive outcomes – abstinence, employment, family reunification, financial restitition, and other meaningful recovery. Also, when I tried to join the public “VARR CALL,” to share some of my concerns as a longtime
Member of the RVA Recovery Community and PRS who has had significant concerns about safety, substance use, predatory behaviors, and unscrupulous threats residents of these VARR “programs” who I have supported, sponsored, or worked with alongside have revealed, I found the Zoom meeting to be a decoy run not by Anthony Grimes. Rather than offering a transparent platform to observe Board decision making and allow conversations or complaints in an official forum, a VARR member opened the call which three other individuals joined, had not real agenda, but offered to answer questions and provide informations as desired. I only refer individuals to other RVA Recovery houses that have steered clear of the VARR “Organized” programs – https://www.rvasoberliving.org/sober-living-residences
Ask some of the Recovery House owners why they are not affiliated with VARR.
I have a lot of info they don’t want out