For several years, my reporting on Richmond’s recovery housing industry has repeatedly brought me back to Starfish Recovery & Wellness. I’ve reported on allegations of sexual misconduct, bullying, treatment coercion, threats, retaliation and unsafe living conditions, among other issues. 

As Virginia has taken steps in recent years to strengthen oversight of recovery housing, Starfish owners Frank and Stephanie Bellanger have been vocal in their opposition to several of those efforts: 

• In September 2024, Frank emailed Henrico County supervisors criticizing local efforts to increase oversight of recovery residences. He described the efforts as “an attack on both civil liberties and on the free market, disguised as ‘oversight.’”  
• In January 2025, Stephanie testified before the General Assembly in opposition¹ to mandatory certification for recovery residences, which took effect July 1, 2025.
• In March 2026, Starfish launched a social media campaign opposing provisions of Senate Bill 270 that prohibited recovery residences from requiring residents to participate in treatment that financially benefits the residence. Without naming the provision at issue, Stephanie claimed the legislation would threaten the organization’s ability to help people and urged the public to make contact with Gov. Abigail Spanberger, asking her to support what Starfish called the alignment of housing and clinical services.
• In September 2026, Stephanie submitted a public comment on the Virginia Town Hall raising several concerns about proposed recovery residence regulations, including the possibility of “duplicative oversight.” She argued that residences accredited by the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR) “already operate under established accreditation standards based upon NARR (National Alliance for Recovery Residences) standards.”

All the while, I’ve continued to hear from former residents, employees, family members and others who have raised ongoing concerns about Starfish and its affiliated outpatient treatment company, StarCity Behavioral Health.² 

In recent months, as I’ve been preparing further reporting on the companies, I discovered that three residences operated by Starfish or StarCity have never been accredited by VARR or formally certified as recovery residences. They include two Richmond homes, on 5th Avenue and Woodrow Avenue, and a third on High Street in Petersburg.

In addition to Virginia’s certification requirement, VARR has a longstanding policy requiring organizations that operate certified residences to obtain certification for all of their homes. 

Asked about the uncertified homes in question, VARR Executive Director Bob de Triquet confirmed that VARR was aware of all three. 

He said VARR follows up with organizations whenever it receives reports of potentially unaccredited recovery residences to determine their operating status. “Models that do not meet the definition of a recovery residence fall outside our scope,” he said.³

According to de Triquet, VARR received different explanations about the three homes between July 2025 and October 2026, though he did not identify who provided the information. He said VARR was told that one home was not operated by Starfish, another was pursuing DBHDS licensure and the third was operating under a “treatment plus housing” model. 

All three explanations run into problems.

High Street

The High Street house was reportedly not operated by Starfish. But former residents and employees describe it as part of the Bellangers’ broader recovery housing operation. Whether the home is technically operated by Starfish or StarCity remains unclear, but that distinction does not determine whether it is subject to Virginia’s certification requirement.

There is also evidence connecting the house to Starfish employees and suggesting that it operates as a recovery residence. Several people who submitted comments on the draft recovery residence regulations identified themselves as employees of a VARR-accredited residence and listed “High Street” alongside their names. Their comments were largely verbatim copies of comments submitted by Starfish employees. (VARR confirmed that no accredited residence has a High Street address.)

5th Avenue

VARR was informed in July 2025 that the 5th Avenue house was pursuing DBHDS licensure as a residential treatment facility. But according to DBHDS Chief Communications Officer Lauren Cunningham, neither the 5th Avenue house nor the other two locations in question is licensed, and the department has no knowledge of any current applications for licensure at those addresses. The home has been operating since at least late 2024, according to former residents and employees.

Woodrow Avenue

VARR was told that the Woodrow Avenue house was operating under a “treatment plus housing” model. 

But that is not a recognized licensing category in Virginia.

Cunningham confirmed that “Virginia has no specific license category for an outpatient treatment provider to operate a separate housing component without the housing address itself being licensed.” 

De Triquet said VARR is unfamiliar with the “treatment plus housing” arrangement and is “looking into the model to better understand how it operates.” 

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Although operating a recovery residence without certification has carried a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty since July 1, 2025, it remains unclear to what extent, if at all, the law is being enforced. It’s also unclear how members of the public and accrediting organizations should report residences operating without certification.

De Triquet believes the issue warrants attention.

“I would like to emphasize the importance of establishing a clear and direct process for credentialing entities and members of the public to report potentially uncertified recovery residences,” he said via email.

De Triquet also raised the issue in part of VARR’s public comment on draft regulations governing recovery residences.

He wrote:

Reporting non-certified recovery residences – Virginia contains recovery residences that are operational and are not certified nor pursuing certification. What is the process for reporting a recovery residence that is operating without the required state certification and/or is out of compliance with state code?

a. VARR recommends that the regulations address:

i. What is the Department’s responsibility for responding to non-certified recovery residences?

ii. Who should non-certified recovery residences be reported to?

iii. What is a credentialing entity’s process for reporting non-certified recovery residences?

iv. Will there be a publicly accessible reporting process for members of the community?

These questions will be especially relevant as I continue to report on Starfish and StarCity.

Over the coming weeks, I will launch a new miniseries examining the companies’ operations, starting with the 5th Avenue house.

Drawing on newly obtained records and accounts from recent employees and residents, the reporting will examine the high-risk population being brought into the home, how the home feeds StarCity’s outpatient treatment program and the problems that can arise when high-need residents are managed around the clock without formal oversight.

Please subscribe for updates, and get in touch with me if you’d like to share your experience with Richmond recovery housing.

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>>Explore previous reporting on Starfish Recovery & Wellness

Note: As I’ve reported over the last few years, Starfish owners Frank and Stephanie Bellanger asked that I cease all contact with them in May 2023. I have not heard from either of them as I’ve continued reporting on Starfish. As always, if they choose to respond to this story, I will promptly add their comments and publish a notification of the update.

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1. Stephanie testified, in part: “I’m still concerned about how this legislation will impact small-, women- and minority-owned recovery residence providers. The legislation will now mandate state certification. The unintended effect will be barriers for small-, women-, and minority-owned businesses to enter this space. For many new business owners, mandatory certification can be cost-prohibitive and complicated. It’s something they usually seek later as a best practice. Additionally, I fear that this is likely to squeeze out local, independently owned providers, while allowing large corporate behavioral health companies to dominate this space.” [Return to article]

2. The Bellangers initially developed StarCity Behavioral Health in collaboration with Jimmy Christmas and his wife, who operate River City Comprehensive Counseling Services. Asked about the status of their business relationship, Christmas told me on Nov. 5, “We are not affiliated with StarCity Behavioral Health nor Starfish Recovery & Wellness in any capacity.” [Return to article]

3. Under Virginia law, a recovery residence is “a housing facility that provides alcohol-free and illicit-drug-free housing to individuals with substance use disorders and individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance use disorders that does not include clinical treatment services.” [Return to article]