Raymond “Rocky” Meadows helped build a system that was supposed to bring accountability to West Virginia’s recovery housing industry. As a sober home operator and founding member of the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR) — the state’s affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) — Meadows helped advance legislation that led […]
Language intended to protect patient choice was significantly altered before Senate Bill 270 was heard Friday in committee. As introduced, the bill explicitly prohibited recovery residences from mandating clinical services as a condition of housing: [State regulations] shall require that no recovery residence, or operator, employee, or agent of a recovery residence, require a resident […]
Where the recovery housing workgroup’s final recommendations stopped short of protecting patient choice, a new bill seeks to make residents’ rights unmistakably clear. Continuing to lead efforts on Virginia sober home reform, Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico) has introduced Senate Bill 270, which would require state regulations to prohibit recovery residences from mandating clinical care as […]
What began as a proposal to end sober home operators’ control over residents’ treatment ultimately became language that preserves the existing business model. During workgroup sessions convened earlier this year under Virginia Senate Bill 838, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) introduced draft language addressing what should happen when recovery residences cross […]
At last week’s final meeting of the SB838 recovery housing workgroup, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) announced a draft proposal aimed at stopping sober home operators from dictating their residents’ treatment. First introduced at the final subgroup meeting on Aug. 26, the draft states: Require residences that provide clinical services (ex: […]
This article contains one update. Will the recovery housing workgroup make any progress toward protecting residents’ rights to choose their own healthcare providers? As with protections from arbitrary evictions, the answer is unclear. This is the fifth in a series of updates on the SB838 workgroup, which is still deliberating on recommendations — due to […]
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 […]
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 […]
River City Comprehensive Counseling, True Recovery, and the WAR Foundation are accused of exploiting sober home residents for Medicaid revenue.