Four months have gone by since I posted the last big installment. For those of you who are wondering, that doesn’t mean this project is ending. It’s nowhere close.
When I first started digging into Richmond’s addiction recovery industry around March/April 2022, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Two years later, it still feels as if I’m just getting started.
This project has been an enormous (at times overwhelming) undertaking, and sometimes it’s a painfully slow process. But doing it responsibly takes time.
When I launched this site in December 2022, I had drafted an eight-part series covering VARR, True Recovery, WAR Foundation and River City. But by the time I published Part 3, I had so much new information coming in that I had to step back and re-prioritize. I took several months to focus on exploitative practices at Starfish Recovery & Wellness – which could have been an entire series on its own. It took another few months to follow up on what VARR had been doing – and not doing – with its money over the last fiscal year and to explore the significance of that. Since then, I’ve been following up on numerous leads from Journey House (another Metro Richmond recovery house operator) in preparation for the next installment, with a few unexpected setbacks along the way. At the same time, I’ve been synthesizing information from dozens of sources across several organizations for articles that will cover exploitation of labor, sexually predatory behaviors, more on the Medicaid cash cow, and likely more after that.
This investigation is moving in so many different directions simultaneously – because I’m finding layers upon layers of corruption within segments of the industry. That’s not to say no one is getting help. Even in the most unscrupulous organizations, some participants still say they’re finding support on their recovery journey. It seems it often just depends on who they are – the price tag they come with, their popularity with the operators – factors that have nothing to do with their willingness to work a program of recovery or their efforts to stay sober. Although those things can help, sometimes (we’ll get there).
After I release this next installment (which I hope will be in the next few weeks), I have so many loose ends to tie and details to vet for future sections.
Sometimes, corroborating a single piece of information takes a ridiculous amount of time and energy – mining through a mountain of public records or tracking down a person with direct knowledge of a given event. Please stay tuned for announcements asking for specific information on different topics, and please consider reaching out to share what you know – it could really help speed things along.
Some of you have waited a year or more to see your stories appear in the series. I haven’t forgotten about any of you. Please hang in there with me.
I’m committed to sticking with this until there’s nothing else newsworthy to share – however long it takes.
Scroll below to view investigative stories in The Parham Papers series, or visit the homepage to explore all articles, including legislative updates.
this is old! NOBODY CARES!
I can assure you that we care – it’s only beginning.
(Name redacted) wearing a $17,000 gold necklace that he brags about. (redacted)
hahaha we have a jewelry appraiser in the house.
Thank you for all your work, Christa. We need you! And I, for one, am grateful this is coming to light after years of whispers around the recovery scene.
Tell me….has anyone checked for hidden cameras and/or audio equipment in any of the sober living houses?
I bet a lot of people would be surprised…
Keep up the good work. We hope it improves the care given to those with addiction. The quantity and quality. The Pharmacist
oh wow you are supporting this! hahaha that’s funny
thank you so much. We deserve better.
then do better. Are you capable of opening and running an organization with over 100 beds? if you can’t then shut up
Just because someone doesn’t want to open a recovery organization doesn’t mean they can’t care about abuses of power, corruption, and people lining their pockets with our tax dollars.
Yes you do! As my daughter did. You will NOT be left on the corner like my daughter.
what do you think treatment centers do you dumbass. You think you go to treatment for free? You may be the stupidest person I’ve ever seen trying to write something. Like you sound so stupid
I feel like those that are downplaying this are most likely “the cool kids” and are living in the houses as house mangers, not paying rent, not working a program, and getting by with everything. For the rest of us this isn’t old and do definitely Do care.
all the ones on here agreeing with her are going to be the ones looking like an idiot when the real truth comes out. I’ve been waiting for a year to see someone answer where all these people are going to go if they closed their doors. Treatment that cost thousands? Jail? Streets? If you know how to do it better then do it. But you probably won’t because you could never accomplish something like that.
What is the “real truth”? Can you name something specific that she’s reported that’s false?
AT LEAST SOMEONE SAID IT! All this is ridiculous and literally is old and fake news and nobody gives a FUCK!!!
if you really cared and wanted to do something you wouldn’t be hiding ANONYMOUSLY!!! IF SOMETHING WAS GOING ON DONT YOU THINK SOMEONE WOULD’VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN IN TROUBLE!! COME ON MAN ITA COMMON SENSE
People have many reasons for remaining anonymous, one of them being that they don’t want to be the target of Christa’s meritless attacks.
Real journalists print their journalistic standards. Real journalists have an editorial board or other body reviewing their work and holding them accountable. Real journalists focus on the totality of a topic instead of cherry picking “facts” and printing their interpretations as “the truth”.
The vast majority of what has been printed on this blog is either grossly inaccurate, misrepresented, mischaracterized or just plain lies. A huge info dump with no evidence of malfeasance is just that: a big dump.
hmmm.. no evidence like actual voice recordings of frank bellinger berating his participants? Or like no evidence as in direct quotes from victims or literal emails and text messages? Funny how you say that “real journalists” have an editorial board holding them accountable.. kinda like how “real non-profits” have an actual board of directors made up of individuals without conflicts of interest to hold them accountable unlike VARR.
What has Christa reported that’s a lie?
so what about the people that started RCO’S before the funding got here. Do you see them complaining? Everyone talks about all this varr funding. Yet 2 of the organizations she keeps talking about were here before the money. Deaths? How is that anyone’s fault? Is it your fault a homeless person oded and died on the streets because you didn’t do more than feed into this nonsense?
all the organizations featured were here before the funding. McShin, true, journey house, war, and river city counseling all existed before the state started funding them. Read the previous articles to see how all of these people are in business together and how they used the money that the state gave varr (which was supposed to go to orgs all throughout the state) to fund themselves and their business partners. This has helped contribute to deaths because people who should have had access to recovery beds throughout the state couldn’t access those resources because varr gave money almost exclusively to Richmond providers that they have a direct business relationship with.
money that the state has approved and looked into? Mhm I’m confused we’re the corruption is when they have signed off on it. How do you know what these people had in their bank accounts before they started? How do you prove they don’t fund it themselves just to help people? You lack of education on this shows and you should probably stop talking about things you don’t know for a fact.
You might be correct. But then they just reimbursed themselves with our tax dollars.
Christa published the breakdown of where the grant money went so we can clearly see that it wasn’t disbursed throughout the state like it was supposed to have been. Also, it’s not just about the money.. the sexual abuse, sleeping with clients, Frank’s giant temper tantrums and blacklisting of former participants.. even IF (big if since obviously the blog isn’t close to done) there hasn’t been anything technically illegal there’s been a ton of super unethical stuff going on. If you’re a part of the recovery community wouldn’t you want to see it change for the better? I don’t really get why there’s people so crazy about defending these people who obviously don’t give a fuck about you.
The lies, distortions, and misrepresentations are too numerous to get into. And the lynch mob in the comments wouldn’t listen anyway. Some of the lies have been pointed out here and in comments on other posts. There is always a “but Christa said…”, “but Christa showed”, like she’s infallible and has no agenda.
I would hate to be one of these owners knowing that you have people out there that you’re trying to help, who are in early recovery, and fearing that if you tell someone “no” or enforce your organization’s rules, they will turn around and give a one sided account to a blog that has zero journalistic credibility.
Also, the obsession with Frank/the Bellanger’s is weird. She dragged the man to hell and back over the word of disgruntled ex-employees and residents.
It’s amazing to me that this blog has ruthlessly and repeatedly focused on recovery residence operators (redacted) instead of the real corruption going in Richmond.
Huge corporate investors have warehoused people in hotels, paid them to use drugs, and recycled them through their “programs” over and over and over while billing Medicaid. Why isn’t that worthy of “investigation”? Because this blog is not about uncovering the truth. It’s about gossip, slander, and (redacted).
If there are so many lies in this blog, it shouldn’t be difficult to give us one example here. Just one. Should be easy. We’ll wait.
”With no witnesses, Seifert said the case rested entirely on her testimony. It isn’t surprising that a “he said, she said” case didn’t meet the high burden of proof needed for a criminal conviction.”
Four witnesses (aside from the accused and the accuser) testified in that case. Christa talked to the prosecutor, she knows that. She purposefully left it out to make it appear to be “he said/she said” when it reality it was “she lie/he truth”.
That’s just one easily provable LIE. I found that information online in less than 90 seconds. Anyone who did any due diligence at the time it was posted knows it was a lie.
And she told THAT lie so she could continue to throw around “abuse”, “sexual assault”, etc and have a picture of one specific operator at the bottom of every page. Why?
1. To drive traffic using the most salacious and outrageous allegations.
2. To destroy a specific operator’s reputation.
3. To destroy the competitors of one specific operator, (name and accusation against the operator redacted).
I’m positive that DISPROVEN LIE won’t be enough to prove this blog is packed with lies because the lynch mob has bought all of her BS hook, line, and sinker.
Smart people know Christa picks and chooses which comments to post and what to redact. And that those unpublished comments and redactions are not done to protect anything except the carefully constructed pile of crap she’s built. I guarantee she won’t publish this comment in full.
You guys can keep arguing with yourselves. The truth is the truth.
(Editor’s note: I responded to this comment in the Q&A section.)
No journalistic integrity? Here’s the Code of Ethics for journalists:
https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Which tenet did Christa violate?
This is a classic DARVO response.
what’s DARVO?
Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender. Perpetrators (and their supporters) of wrongdoing attempt to switch the focus away from the original issue and attack the actual victim(s). The victims here are the residents who’ve bravely shared their stories and their families/friends.
Nobody is obsessed with frank except frank lol she’s publishing on each organization and starfish just happened to be the first one. Trust me when I say what she published on that one is no where near everything that could have been published and frank deserves every bit of that spotlight. That being said, it’s not “Christa says”, these are the things that have been going on with these organizations for years and people have known about it but have never had proof. If people are disgruntled it’s for a reason. People who have been around the recovery scene in Richmond for a long time know these people and have seen all of this unfold in real time. You might be able to lie to the newcomers and convince them Christa doesn’t know what she’s talking about but you don’t fool us.
Speaking of frank being an actual predator.. the Bellangers just launched a new way to pray on people.. Starcity Behavioral Health. Guess they figured out how to circumvent the Medicaid kickback laws.
this involves Lamont Bagby’s brother, right?
yes
Lamont Bagby – as in used to work for Suntrust bank?
as in Senator Lamont Bagby
Thank you Christa for continuing this extensive investigation. It matters not only to those in recovery but to those trying to make a difference in the recovery community. I view it as a “what not to do” guide…..just because it’s taking time to do it probably doesn’t mean better alternatives aren’t in the making.
when you commodify vulnerable people, sharks will be there to take advantage of them. Kick the doors wide open, Christa.
Sober living = sexual harassment, targeting and bullying, gaslighting, manipulation and control. Addicts using and overdosing and not found for DAYS! Not until a family member comes to check on them.
That’s my experience.
I feel like 100% of the venom being spewed here is by people who all know this to be truthful, not old, not fake news. Also, with some kind of friendship to the guilty parties and probably some of the guilty parties. Bless their hearts.
Stay the course Christa! Thank you!!