香港三级片

We were standing on the road in front of the yellow-and-red-brick house at 4546 Ashland Avenue, in the Greater Ville neighborhood in north St. 香港三级片. I was there to check on the condition of the house. She drove up a few minutes after I knocked on the door.

The house is supposedly a sober-living home owned by Marvin Shelton, who claims to operate a series of such homes for people recovering from addiction throughout the city and the county. He owns a nonprofit called .

Smith is the president of the nonprofit.

But that鈥檚 not what she told me. Not at first.

鈥淒o you work for Dr. Marvin Shelton?鈥� I asked.

No, she said.

鈥淒o you work with Dr. Marvin Shelton?鈥�

No.

鈥淒o you know if there is heat in that house?鈥�

Why are you asking?

I was asking because of Jason Wright. Until Wednesday, Wright lived at 4546 Ashland. The house has no heat, Wright says. There is no working furnace. Wright, 49, grew up in Florissant. He has struggled with addiction much of his adult life. Alcohol, cocaine, heroin. Most recently he became addicted to opioids after a back injury. The former nurse now lives on disability payments.

Earlier this year he went to rehab at Bridgeway Behavioral Health in St. Charles County. When he got out in May, clean and ready to stay that way, he was referred to a sober-living home owned by Shelton. The first house he went to, in Hanley Hills, was pretty nice, he says, though at one point the electricity was briefly turned off for lack of payment. Not long after that, Wright was moved to the house on Ashland. It hasn鈥檛 had heat or hot water since the weather turned cold.

Wright pays Shelton $500 a month for rent, as do the other men trying to stay sober and stay off the streets.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been using the oven and a space heater,鈥� Wright says. 鈥淭here are bed bugs, the water leaks into the house when it rains. There is no furnace. He puts no money into his places. They are awful.鈥�

This is what I tried to talk about with Smith. The day before, Shelton had promised me an interview. He hung up on me when I asked him about the condition of his homes.

I pressed Smith again about her relationship with Shelton. She finally told me the truth.

鈥淚鈥檓 his chief operating officer,鈥� she said.

Yes, I said. In fact, the nonprofit鈥檚 website says you are in charge of housing. The secretary of state鈥檚 documentation says you are the president.

I asked again: Does that house have heat?

She refused to answer.

Wright believes the lack of heat is why he was suddenly moved from Ashland to a house farther north, on Beacon Avenue in the Walnut Park neighborhood.

That house, which according to city records Shelton doesn鈥檛 own, also lacks heat and hot water. In fact, there is no power, save for an extension cord running from the house next door, which city records show is owned by the city鈥檚 Land Reutilization Authority. There is no furniture, unless you count the old lawn mower sitting in the empty dining room. There is no door on Wright鈥檚 room. The oven doesn鈥檛 work. The house is frigid.

鈥淚t鈥檚 colder inside than it is outside,鈥� Wright says. On the day we visited he had just returned from the urgent care. He has pneumonia. He鈥檚 staying sober, he says, but the conditions of his living arrangements 鈥渕ake it very difficult.鈥�

Shelton owns six properties in the city and seven in St. 香港三级片 County. According to court records, he appears to be having financial difficulties. In August he was sued for alleged nonpayment of more than $12,000 in fees and assessments on a condo he owns in Hazelwood. Earlier this year, his bank account was garnished for a $12,500 judgment he owes on an unpaid credit card.

Shelton refused to answer specific questions but said none of his properties 鈥渁re lacking anything.鈥�

Shelton told a Christian radio station in a March interview that God led him to work with the most vulnerable members of society, from those leaving prison, to veterans, the homeless and people fighting addiction. 鈥淲e are led by God,鈥� Shelton said . 鈥淕od had placed it in us to start a housing program.鈥�

In an emailed statement, a spokesman for Bridgeway Behavioral Health said the rehab facility often provides a list of sober-home sites to patients as they leave, but that it鈥檚 up to the client to decide whether to use any of the programs.

Shelton said in the radio interview that he runs 19 group homes and two residential rehabilitation centers. When I called him, he would not answer any specific questions. On his website, he indicates that he takes referrals from Dismas House of St. 香港三级片, a nonprofit that has a contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons to provide transitional housing for men leaving federal prison. That nonprofit has historically been run by one family that has paid millions of dollars in salaries to family members while providing little to residents of the facility in terms of services.

Randy Howard, executive director of Dismas House, said he had never heard of Shelton. Federal records show Shelton has a which is required of certain health-care organizations. In one place on the federal website, the address Shelton lists for his business, also known as CelebrationPointe, is a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant on Howdershell Road. In another place on the website, Shelton lists the Beacon Avenue home as his business address.

鈥淲e like to pride ourselves in excellence,鈥� Shelton said in the radio interview.

Wright would beg to differ. When he left rehab in May, he felt good about his opportunity to stay sober. Now he鈥檚 wondering where he鈥檚 going to live next. He thinks it is important for Shelton to be exposed, but he鈥檚 also worried he will soon be evicted.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to stay sober. Heat would help.鈥�