Manuals » Oxford Houses of Virginia

It also acts as the coordinating body to help individual houses to organize mutually supportive chapters. oxford house Through chapters individual houses are able to share their experience, strength and hope with each other to assure compliance with the Oxford House concept and its respected standardized system of operations. Halfway houses are typically state or federally funded, and residents must adhere to strict rules and regulations.

• We’ll show you how Oxford Houses work together to form a self-supporting network of houses.
• The Oxford House Model is the unique, time-tested system of operations; an evidence-based practice shown to bring significant results currently unmatched in the recovery space.
• Some of us had lived for a time in alcoholic and drug rehabilitation facilities.
• Chapters are important links in making the democratic system of organization underlying Oxford House™ work.
• Oxford House provides a supportive and sober living environment for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

What is the Model?

Third, an Oxford House must, in essence be a good member of the community by obeying the laws and paying its bills. These testimonials highlight the positive impact that Oxford Houses can have on individuals in the early stages of recovery from substance addiction. With thousands of houses across the United States and other countries, Oxford Houses continue to provide a vital support system for those committed to maintaining their sobriety.

Forms and Manuals

• Oxford House grew out of the need for many of us to begin a new life without fear of backsliding because of loneliness or renewed dependency on former drinking companions.
• These testimonials highlight the positive impact that Oxford Houses can have on individuals in the early stages of recovery from substance addiction.
• These houses foster peer-supported communal living, self-governance, and self-help, allowing residents to support each other in their efforts to abstain from alcohol and substance use.
• The alcoholic or drug addict alone begins to compare himself to those members of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous who still have family and friends.
• It should also be pointed out that Oxford House, Inc. in no way gains from the creation of new Oxford Houses.

In contrast, Oxford Houses are self-run with democratically-established rules by the residents themselves, and they are self-supported through the residents’ pooled finances. Oxford House, Inc. is a separate nonprofit organization Halfway house that provides support and training to the network of houses to help expand the Oxford House Model. More than 80 percent of Oxford House residents remain clean and sober for the long term even though many of them come from backgrounds that have included lengthy alcohol and drug use, periods of homelessness, and incarceration. Nearly all members of Oxford House utilize the AA and/or NA program in order to obtain and keep a comfortable sobriety. However, an Oxford House relies primarily upon example for assuring a high percentage of AA and/or NA attendance from its members.

Oxford House Recovery Homes

Therefore, it is important that each Oxford House meet these minimum responsibilities in order for its charter to be continued. All Oxford Houses have been careful to avoid undo dependence on government or other outside funds. In deference to that tradition, Oxford House has never sought nor obtained sponsorship from any AA or NA group. However, Oxford House members firmly believe that the Oxford House concept can expand as an independent entity, while fully utilizing the benefits of Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous. Every Oxford House member attributes his sobriety to Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous.

• The charter of each Oxford House requires that an Oxford House meet certain minimum requirements of Oxford House, Inc.
• Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provided a framework for us to change physically, mentally, and spiritually.
• Oxford House was founded not only to put a roof over our head, but also to create a home where the disease of alcoholism was understood and the need for the alcoholic to stay away from the first drink was emphasized.
• Often several members of an existing House will move into the new House to provide a core group of new members who already know how an Oxford House works.

Residents appreciate the peer-supported communal living, self-governance, and self-help aspects of the Oxford House model. These factors allow them to support each other in their efforts to abstain from alcohol and substance use. By the time many of us had stopped drinking, we had lost jobs; we had lost families, and some of us either had no place to live or no place to live which was not an invitation to start drinking again. Oxford House was founded not only to put a roof over our head, but also to create a home where the disease of alcoholism was understood and the need for the alcoholic to stay away from the first drink was emphasized. The bond that holds the group together is the desire to stop drinking and stay stopped. Modest rooms and living facilities can become luxurious suites when viewed from an environment of alcoholics working together for comfortable sobriety.

The combination of a structured living environment, mutual support, accountability, and access to resources has proven effective in helping residents achieve lasting sobriety and stability. Oxford House, Inc. is a separate nonprofit organization that employs field staff to provide technical assistance to the network of houses to help expand the Oxford House Model. The charter of each Oxford House requires that an Oxford House meet certain minimum requirements of Oxford House, Inc. First of all, no Oxford House may permit individuals to remain as members if those individuals are drinking or using drugs. Second, an Oxford House must follow the democratic principles in running the house.

Other members were asked to leave half-way houses in order to make room for a recovering alcoholic or recovering drug addict who was ready to move into a half-way house. All too often, an abrupt transition from a protected environment to an environment which places considerable glamour on the use of alcohol and drugs causes a return to alcoholic drinking or addictive drug use. During our drinking and drug use years, and even before, many of us found it difficult to accept authority. Many individuals in society are able to abide by the strict letter of any rule, regulation , or law. Alcoholics and drug addicts seem to have a tendency to test and retest the validity of any real, potential, or imagined restriction on their behavior. Many individuals who have lived in an Oxford House find the experience to be invaluable to their recovery journey.