The third factor affecting us both in the rehabilitation facilities and the half-way houses was the realization that the duration of our stay must be limited because space must be made for others in need of help. A recovering individual can live in an Oxford House for as long as he or she does not drink alcohol, does not use drugs, and pays an equal share of the house expenses. The average stay is about a year, but many residents stay three, four, or more years. When we stopped drinking, we began to realize that in order to stay stopped, our lives would need to change.

Each member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month as well as the cost of utilities, telephone, cable TV and any other expenses that the house includes in its common expenditures. Some houses collect EES from its members on a monthly basis while many houses choose to collect EES on a weekly basis. This monthly or weekly amount varies from state to state and house to house and can range anywhere from $125 a week to $250 a week. When you call a house to set up an interview you can ask them how much their EES is.

An underlying principle of Oxford House is that each individual member has the ability to be responsible for himself. Living within an Oxford House provides both the opportunity and motivation for all residents to regularly attend AA and/or NA meetings. The example of Oxford House members going to AA or NA meetings on their own is contagious.

• Followed up on each house application and tracked down the individuals who had moved out.
• Each member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month as well as the cost of utilities, telephone, cable TV and any other expenses that the house includes in its common expenditures.
• It is at these meetings that checks are written for bills and residents are made aware of where they stand financially.
• Alternatively, if you’d like to send your application to all houses near you that have an opening, you can Apply Online.
• There are over 3500 self-sustaining Oxford Houses in the United States and more than 24,000 individuals in recovery living in these houses at any one time during the year.

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. 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.

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• In those situations where a member’s behavior is disruptive to the group as a whole, the member may be required to seek such professional help or more self-help meetings in order to avoid being dismissed from Oxford House.
• Each individual recovers from alcoholism or drug addiction at a different pace.
• Such meetings should be used to resolve any operational or personality problems facing the house.
• This monthly or weekly amount varies from state to state and house to house and can range anywhere from $125 a week to $250 a week.
• 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.
• The line between an Oxford House of recovering alcoholics or drug addicts and an Oxford House of active alcoholics or drug addicts is a thin one.

There are over 3500 self-sustaining Oxford Houses in the United States and more than 24,000 individuals in recovery living in these houses at any one time during the year. Oxford Houses are democratically self-run by the residents who elect officers to serve for terms of six months. In this respect, they are similar to a college fraternity, sorority, or a small New England town. Officers have fixed terms of office to avoid bossism or corruption of egalitarian democracy.

The Oxford House Model is‍time-tested and evidence-based.

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. Third, an Oxford House must, in essence be a good member of the community by obeying the laws and paying its bills. Mr. Molloy and the other residents devised the basic rules of self-government that have shaped Oxford House ever since.

Be honest and straightforward when sharing the Oxford House concept with others. Today Oxford House has more than 20,000 residents at more than 3,500 homes across 47 states and several foreign countries. It received a boost after Mr. Molloy successfully lobbied for passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which established a fund to help provide start-up loans for groups opening residential recovery locations like those of Oxford House. Things that I have learned through AA and Oxford House are an attitude of gratitude, acceptance, love, forgiveness, compassion, and the willingness to take that next step.

Oxford House Manual: Chapter Manual: Sharing the Experience, Strength, and Hope of Oxford Houses for the Common Good

I just had to follow the rules, get along with everyone, and work on my recovery. It took me awhile to get used to being with a group of guys like myself. But together we have learned to manage and maintain the house and interact as a family. The Oxford House Model is shared, studied, and growing because it works. It continues to stand the test of time as a leading model in sober living.

The Oxford House Model provides a community based, supportive, and sober living environment.

Paul Molloy was a young lawyer on Capitol Hill who had a key role in drafting legislation that created Amtrak and other federal programs. He was also an alcoholic whose drinking would eventually cost him his job, his family and his home. Oxford House, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that employs both office and field staff to provide technical assistance to the network of houses to foster the expansion of the Oxford House Model.

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. Loneliness and self-pity soon lead such individuals back to alcoholic drinking or drug use. With Oxford House there is no need for a recovering individual to live in an environment dominated by loneliness. During early recovery for alcoholism and drug addiction, some members had to leave an institution in order to make room for an alcoholic or drug addict just beginning the recovery process.

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Oxford House, Inc. provides technical assistance to foster the expansion of the Oxford House Model. Find documents, templates, and everything residents need while living at an Oxford House. Learn what makes Oxford House stand out as a unique model for recovery housing. For example, the landlord and phone company may require a security deposit and, while furnishings are generally donated, members will often have to rent a truck in order to pick them up. There may also be a need to buy more „staples“ such as flour, sugar, coffee, etc. when a House starts up.

In its simplest form, an Oxford House is a shared residence where people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction can live together and support each other in a drug and alcohol-free environment. The Oxford House concept is a sound one, based on sound principles, and has demonstrated its worth with an established track record. We should spread the word about Oxford House, but be wary of individuals who place their own personalities before the principles that made Oxford House work. Oxford Houses are dedicated to recovery and group support; not individual gain. The members of an Oxford House assume full responsibility for the operation of the House. The rent that is charged the members is determined by the members themselves in a democratic fashion.

Each Oxford House should be autonomous except in matters affecting other houses or Oxford House, Inc., as a whole. „An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest Problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.“ The easiest way to find an Oxford House is to use our vacancy locator at oxfordvacancies.com. Once you find a house that has a vacancy, you can call the contact person to set up an interview. Alternatively, you can apply online and your information will be sent to all of the Oxford Houses in your area that have an opening. You will usually pay a nonrefundable fee, plus payment for your first two weeks, and you can move in.

Other Houses often help that type of move as well as the brand new House. In both cases, financial assistance is in the form of a loan having a pay back schedule, not to exceed one year, defined up front. (Since 1989, many new Oxford Houses have taken advantage of state revolving loan programs. However, the members of Oxford House have found only by being active in AA and/or NA have they found comfortable, long-term sobriety — for themselves and the Oxford House in which they live. While Oxford House, Inc. has the sole authority to grant Oxford House charters, the World Council acts as an advisory council to the board.

Equal Expense Shared (EES) is generally between 80 and 160 dollars a week and includes utilities. Weekly business meetings are mandatory to discuss any issues that the house may be facing. It is at these meetings that checks are written for bills and residents are made aware of where they stand financially. The concept and the standardized, democratic, self-supported Oxford House system of operations itself are far more persuasive than any individual.

Oxford House members value the Sixth Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous (and Narcotics Anonymous) too greatly for themselves to try to get either movement deeply involved in the organizing, financing, or sponsorship of any Oxford House. However, Oxford House members firmly believe that the Oxford House concept can expand as an independent entity, while fully utilizing the benefits of oxford house traditions Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous. Every Oxford House member attributes his sobriety to Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous. Each Oxford House member, as an individual, considers himself a member of AA and/or NA.