Limited research, however, is available regarding how Oxford House settings compare to other treatments. Using cross sectional data, Ferrari, Jason, Davis, Olson, and Alvarez (2004) compared the operational policies of 55 Oxford Houses to those of 14 Therapeutic Communities (TCs). Neither type of facility permitted self-injurious behaviors (e.g., physical self-harm or misuse of medication) or destructive acts (e.g., destroying site property or others’ possessions). Oxford Houses, however, were significantly more liberal in permitting residents personal liberties compared to the TC facilities. For example, Oxford Houses permitted greater flexibility in terms of residents’ smoking in their rooms, sleeping late in the morning or staying out late at night, going away for a weekend, and having “private time” in their locked room with guests.

Oxford Houses are established in good neighborhoods to integrate the recovering individuals into mainstream communities, away from former environments, people and habits. Behavior change is key for successful recovery and living in a nice house and a nice neighborhood helps https://ecosoberhouse.com/ restore pride and self-esteem and provides additional incentive for the member to stay clean and sober. Numerous studies have shown that most people who live in sober homes after attending treatment have low rates of relapse and are able to live productive lives.

Q. How many times has the average Oxford House resident been through residential treatment?

When the vote is conducted, at least 80% of the members must vote in favor for the applicant to be admitted entry into the home and officially become an Oxford member or resident. Oxford homes must have no less than six residents and usually will not go above 15. Using this cost-effective way to improve the chances of recovery from oxford house rules addiction may be the best way to show the community that recovery works and that recovering addicts can become model citizens. Second, only a lease to the House as a group accurately reflects that the House is responsible as a group. The property is being used by the group as a treatment for alcoholism for the benefit of the group.

Oxford Houses seem to stop the recycling in and out of jail or treatment facilities. Try to determine their optimism, willingness to offer support and motivation for remaining sober. That can be a good time to get to know future roommates and decide whether that particular house is best for you. Sober living homes don’t require accreditation, a state license or oversight from a behavioral health care provider.

Mental Health Concerns

Investment in abstinence-specific social support was reported to be one of the best post-treatment prognostic indicators of recovery (Longabaugh et al., 1995; Zywiak, Longabaugh & Wirtz, 2002). In 2007, the Oxford House organization received about $1.6 million in grants from state and local governments to pay outreach workers to develop and maintain networks of individual Oxford Houses in nine States and the District of Columbia. Only 6% of these costs were for general and administrative costs of Oxford House, Inc. During 2007, the inhabitants of Oxford Houses expended approximately $47,814,156 to pay the operational expenses of the houses.

• The goal of many halfway houses is to reduce recidivism among felons using supervision.
• These houses provide their residents, also called members, an opportunity to live independently while sharing a home with like-minded people who have similar goals in their recovery journey.
• This study did not provide outcome data regarding residents’ experiences living in these recovery communities.
• Alcoholism and drug addiction are international problems and Oxford Houses can provide recovering individuals the opportunity to become comfortable enough in sobriety to avoid relapse.
• Fifty-three percent of residents reported prior homelessness for an average time of 6 months.

The ways that sober living houses work vary depending on the level of support provided. The National Alliance for Recovery Residences is one of the largest associations of sober living homes in the United States. It developed four levels of support that can be used to characterize most sober living homes.

How Sober Living Houses Work

Oxford House, Inc. will consider favorably a Charter application whether or not a loan is received from the State or some other outside source. Any recovering alcoholic or drug addict can apply to get into any Oxford House by filling out an application and being interviewed by the existing members of the 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.

According to the Oxford House model, as each founding member moves out, a new member who shares the group’s common pursuit is voted in. Even if every founding member happens to move out at once, though, the non-founding members who replace them will learn the Oxford House model from members of nearby Oxford Houses. Following the Oxford House model, the group of non-founding members will continue to pursue long term recovery together as a group, just like the group who started the house.

These data were used in 5 court cases, which were successful in arguing against closing down Oxford Houses that had more than 5 or 6 non-related residents. One of the largest examples of a community-based, mutual-help residential community for high risk substance abuse individuals is Oxford House. In the U.S., over 9,800 people live in these self-run dwellings where they obtain jobs, pay utility bills, and learn to be responsible citizens. Beginning with one single rented residence in the mid 1970s, Oxford Houses now number over 1,300. These rented homes are helping to deal with drug addiction and community re-entry by providing stable housing without any limits on length of stay, a network of job opportunities, and support for abstinence. An exploration of the research on these unique settings highlights the strengths of such a community-based approach to addressing addiction.

• Behavior change is key for successful recovery and living in a nice house and a nice neighborhood helps restore pride and self-esteem and provides additional incentive for the member to stay clean and sober.
• Within this large study, we analyzed psychiatric severity data such that we compared residents with high versus low baseline psychiatric severity (Majer, Jason, North, Davis, Olson, Ferrari et al., 2008).
• One of the largest examples of a community-based, mutual-help residential community for high risk substance abuse individuals is Oxford House.
• If a member does not follow these rules, the most typical immediate consequence is imposing fines.