Hundreds in drug treatment lose housing after fraud allegations

DAYTON, Ohio — Hundreds of patients in drug treatment say they were left out in the cold with no warning. A major treatment provider in Dayton is in crisis and its future uncertain after its former owner was charged with fraud.

Daniel Bavicks and Amanda May are packing up what little they have left after they say they were forced out of their drug treatment program.

“We got a knock on the door at 6:30 at night and was told be out of the rooms in an hour, so I’m out there stranded and nowhere to go, you know, and not knowing who to call, what to do,” said May. 

They’d both spent the last two months trying to get clean through Clearview Treatment Center in Dayton. Now, they worry as hundreds like them are at risk of relapse.

“I feel like it’s going to have a lot of impact on a lot of people’s treatment. like, people have nowhere to go. They’re going to end up relapsing or doing something stupid to find somewhere to go or anything like that,” said Bavicks. 

An estimated 400 people lost their housing and treatment Friday night. 

Clearview management would not comment on the situation. 

But a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office shows Clearview’s previous owner Terry Hill Jr. was charged with health care fraud earlier this year for the second time. The statement shows the first time Hill was convicted of Medicaid fraud back in 2021.

But patients were told Medicaid money was supposed to be paying for their hotel while in treatment and that Medicaid money has been cut off.

Now, volunteers, many in recovery themselves, are racing to keep people from ending up on the street.

“I know what it’s like to walk around without shoes on my feet in the middle of cold in the hopes of just getting high one more time, and I don’t like seeing that,” said TJ Brinnon, Safe Haven Recovery Housing owner. 

Brinnon and his fiance, Molly Cruz, are starting a new recovery house and helping bring patients from Clearview to other housing.

“I definitely wanted to help because of that and because there’s so many great options for treatment that it really it kind of hurts my soul,” said Cruz. 

Now, they’re taking Bavicks and May to their next stop for treatment.

“Just having that extra person to have your back and especially your spouse be in there with you makes a huge difference,” said May.