What is an Oxford House? Oxford House Recovery Homes

Oxford House, Inc. monitors the activities of each house in a number of ways. First, it has on-site support by dedicated members of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Getting sober and staying sober is serious business for these recovering individuals and their dedication to helping others achieve sobriety is unsurpassed. All they need to do is to find a house to rent in the name of the group, and apply to Oxford House, Inc., for a charter.

Oxford Houses are primarily for those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Residents should also be prepared to participate in the democratic decision-making processes within the house. A study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found sober living home residents experienced improvements in arrest rates, alcohol and drug use rates, and employment rates. The authors found evidence that 12-step program attendance and social support systems were key components of recovery for residents.

Oxford House Residential Leases and the Landlord Relationship

Recovery residences are less expensive than living at a rehabilitation facility or detox center because fewer services are offered. But many sober homes require residents to attend support group meetings or participate in 12-step programs or outpatient treatment, which may be an additional cost for residents to consider. Sober living homes are maintained through fees, and residents can usually stay as long as they want.

They will return to their families; they may start new families; they may simply move into another living situation. The concept and the standardized, democratic, self-supported Oxford House system of operations itself are far more persuasive than any individual. Be honest and straight-forward when sharing the Oxford House concept with others. The situation should be avoided whereby certain individuals will what is an oxford house begin to equate their persuasive qualities with the Oxford House concept. It is inconsistent with the Oxford House system of democratic rule to have a professional manager of Oxford House. Starting new Houses through the mutual assistance of existing Oxford Houses is a tradition because each House was started with the help of existing Houses and tends to pass on to others that which they received.

Q. Who manages an Oxford House?

The application is then considered by the membership of the House and if there is a vacancy and if 80% of the members approve, the applicant is accepted and moves in. If an applicant does not get voted into one house he or she should try another house in the area. The Oxford House website contains an application and information about How to Apply to live in an Oxford House. Rent and the various utilities paid by residents vary by location, but the cost of living in an Oxford House is usually no more than what it would cost to live elsewhere.

Within an Oxford House group, it is not unusual to find some members who have problems which cannot be dealt with by the group. In those situations, it is not uncommon for the Oxford House members, at a meeting, to strongly suggest that a fellow member seek professional help. Failure to adhere to any of these three requirements would bring the entire Oxford House concept into question.

Q. How much sobriety or clean time is needed before an individual can be accepted into an Oxford House?

With Oxford House there is no need for a recovering individual to live in an environment dominated by loneliness. Oxford Houses are self-run, self-supported recovery homes for individuals seeking a drug and alcohol-free living environment. To get into an Oxford House, applicants must undergo an interview process with current residents. The residents make a collective decision on whether to accept the individual into the house based on their commitment to sobriety and willingness to follow house rules. Oxford House Inc., is a non-profit, tax exempt, publicly supported corporation which acts as a umbrella organization for the national network of Oxford Houses.

• The average length of jail time is about one year, with a range of few days to more than ten years.
• A new house member must be interviewed by current residents and must receive an 80 percent vote of approval to be accepted.
• There is no in-house treatment or requirement to attend a specific recovery program, but 12-step participation is popular in Oxford Houses.
• Every opportunity should be given to a member who needs professional help to see that he obtains it.

The leases are exactly the same as a lease to a single family but with certain important distinctions. The opportunity for a house to democratically function requires periodic meetings within the house — at least once a week. Such meetings should be used to resolve any operational or personality problems facing the house. By running Oxford House on a democratic basis, members of Oxford House become able to accept the authority of the group because the group is a peer group. Each member has an equal voice in the group and each has an opportunity to relearn responsibility and to accept decisions once they are made. A major part of the Oxford House philosophy is that dependency is best overcome through an acceptance of responsibility.

Halfway Houses

Using this cost-effective way to improve the chances of recovery from addiction may be the best way to show the community that recovery works and that recovering addicts can become model citizens. The number of residents in a House may range from six to fifteen; there are houses for men, houses for women, and houses which accept women with children. Many individuals when leaving treatment relapse within the first year of recovery. This is because they fall into the same stressors of not being able to find employment, struggles with maintaining their home, or meeting up with old acquaintances who re-expose them to substances.