Attachment to Part 7: ‘All Virginians’ still come second to insider benefits
Capacity-Expansion Awards
Lotus Recovery RVA was awarded $155,110 in FY22 and $70,202 in FY23. The organization is owned by Isiah Bagby, the brother of state Sen. Lamont Bagby – a VARR ally and business partner to one former and two current VARR officials (see Part 2).
Peter’s Place RVA was awarded $140,000 in FY22 and $49,243 in FY23. The organization was owned by Shauntelle Hammonds, who was on the VARR board from January 2021 through mid-late 2022. She died in November.
Urban Recovery RVA was awarded $96,330 in FY22. The organization is owned by VARR board member Jimmy Christmas, who was elected vice chairman of VARR in January 2023.
Starfish Recovery & Wellness was awarded $63,000 in FY22 and $105,000 in FY23. The organization has been affiliated with Jimmy Christmas since at least January 2022, sending residents to River City for outpatient services. Starfish co-owner Stephanie Bellanger was elected onto the VARR board in January 2023.
Supreme Re-entry Programming and Community Transitional Services was awarded $55,400 in FY22. The organization is affiliated with Jimmy Christmas, providing “Therapy and IOP Services through River City Comprehensive Counseling,” according to its website.
Loudoun Serenity House was awarded $86,203 in FY23. Melissa Hinton, the executive director, was elected onto the VARR board in January 2023. She is now the VARR treasurer.
Recovery in Action received $82,870 in FY23. The organization is operated by Mark King, the boyfriend of Juliette Iverson. Iverson is a recent (unknown if current) employee of River City Residential Services, which is co-owned by Jimmy Christmas.
Indigent Funding Awards
True Recovery RVA and Eco Flats RVA (a division of True Recovery) received $635,072 in FY22 and $658,960 in FY23. David Rook was the managing partner of True Recovery and a VARR board member through 2022. He was the VARR president through March 2022.
McShin Foundation received $536,518 in FY22 and $625,720 in FY23. Jesse Wysocki is the chief operating officer of McShin and was the VARR secretary through 2022. Carol McDaid is the co-founder of McShin and wife of McShin’s then-president. She was a VARR board member through 2022.
WAR Foundation received $388,938 in FY22 and $431,780 in FY23. WAR Foundation was co-founded by VARR Executive Director Anthony Grimes and his wife, Kate Grimes. Kate Grimes owns and operates WAR Foundation.
REAL Life received $350,422 in FY22 and $450,960 in FY23. Sarah Scarbrough is REAL Life’s executive director. She was the VARR vice president through March 2022 and has been the VARR president since then.
Caritas received $107,110 in FY22 and $143,440 in FY23. Benjamin Carr is the director of recovery services at Caritas. He was a VARR board member through 2022.
Journey House received $344,992 in FY22 and $398,180 in FY23. Journey Michael Tillem is the owner/operator of Journey House. His organization is affiliated with Jimmy Christmas, sending residents to River City for outpatient services. Tillem also co-owns River City Residential Services with Jimmy Christmas and formerly (unknown if currently) with David Rook.
In addition to receiving capacity-expansion funds referenced above, Starfish received $138,415 in indigent funding during FY22 and $220,090 in FY23.
Indigent funds distributed to other organizations ranged from $800 to $25,380. Those awards can be viewed here.
With the exception of John Shinholser, whose comments are included in the main article, the individuals referenced above, who are affiliated with VARR leadership, declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment. As noted in previous sections, I did not contact Stephanie Bellanger, as she asked me to cease all contact in May 2023.
Return to Part 7: ‘All Virginians’ still come second to insider benefits