Last winter, Melissa saw a notification on her daughter Elizabeth’s email account: a $50 payment from Starfish Recovery. When asked about her involvement with Starfish, Elizabeth divulged that Frank Bellanger — owner and CEO of the Richmond recovery housing company — had been paying her for “content.” At the time, Elizabeth was in and out […]
Bagby, now a candidate for Dem party chair, brushes off concerns about his close relationship with VARR.
At the beginning of 2023, Joel Hughes opened a recovery home for men at the entrance of Stonehenge Farm Road in rural Powhatan County. He found the home’s generous accommodations and peaceful surroundings a perfect fit. The Stonehenge house was one of just two sober homes Hughes was operating through his small nonprofit, Tri-Hope Life […]
At Lotus Recovery RVA, sober home residents allege sexual harassment and abuse of power by the brother of Virginia Senator Lamont Bagby, a VARR ally.
Henrico Deputy County Manager for Public Safety Michael Feinmel explains how the courts came to rely on recovery homes with no government oversight as an alternative to jail.
Eight years ago, Michael Tillem grew tired of watching people die from the disease of addiction. With 14 years of sustained recovery under his belt, Tillem “felt called to live in the solution.” So, he dedicated his life to helping those who still suffer, working tirelessly in “relentless pursuit of the greater good.” At […]
This article contains one update. Since 2021, the state of Virginia has relied on a group of mostly Metro Richmond-based recovery house owners and operators to fairly distribute millions of taxpayer dollars to recovery house operators throughout the state. Organized as the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VARR), that group promised to promote equitable access […]
Former female residents of Starfish Recovery & Wellness allege sexual misconduct by CEO Frank Bellanger.
A DBHDS review confirmed “lack of robust conflict of interest policies and disclosures” and “lack of supporting documentation and monitoring of the expenditures,” among other deficiencies.
People battling addiction say they were degraded, discarded and sworn to silence in this VARR-certified recovery organization. The CEO’s own words support their claims.
Three years ago, Stephanie Bellanger publicly shared her story of supporting her husband, Frank, through his battle with addiction. It was a struggle that consumed their lives for much of the preceding decade, she told the audience: “My own therapist said … ‘that person that you were 10 years ago that you considered to be […]
For sober home residents, a relapse can mean eviction or jail. But what happens when operators return to using?
VARR leaders funneled large sums of taxpayer money to their own for-profit companies, while smaller organizations struggled to stay afloat.
River City Comprehensive Counseling, True Recovery, and the WAR Foundation are accused of exploiting sober home residents for Medicaid revenue.
Amid growing national attention to the sober home industry’s predatory underbelly, Virginia delegated oversight to a small group of Richmonders with financial stakes in the industry.