North Carolina Rehab Program Sent Clients To Work For No Pay At Adult Care Homes

By Laura Pellicer,

Published May 25, 2018 at 12:50 PM EDT

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A former employee at Candler Living Center, a facility for mentally ill and disabled adults outside Asheville, N.C., contracted with Recovery Connections for workers. It houses nearly 30 residents.

Courtesy of Nancy Pierce / Reveal

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Cedarbrook Residential Center, an assisted-living facility in Nebo, N.C., houses 80 residents and used workers from Recovery Connections Community.

Courtesy of Nancy Piece / Reveal

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Julia Harris, pictured at her home near Brevard, N.C., said she was struck with one thought when she arrived at Recovery Connections last year for help with an alcohol problem: “I have landed in an insane asylum.”";s:

Nancy Pierce / Reveal

For years, clients who sought treatment for addiction at a North Carolina-based rehab program found themselves in a system of exploitative labor, according to a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The program Recovery Connections Community operated out of two facilities in Buncombe County and one in Harnett County. It was founded in 2011 by Jennifer Warren, an addictions counselor who was stripped of her license in 2012.

When clients arrived at the rehab centers, sometimes at the order of a judge, they found there was in fact no treatment. Instead they were expected to put in 16 hour days working at adult care homes, and they sometimes found themselves dispensing the same drugs they were addicted to.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Reveal investigative journalists Amy Julia Harris and Shoshana Walter.