I’m currently the HSC Rep for Chapter 7 and it’s been a wonderful experience doing it. I’m grateful and blessed for the opportunity to live and be a part of Oxford. The application is then considered by the membership of the House and if 80% of the members approve, the applicant is accepted and moves in. If an applicant does not get voted into one house they should try another house in the area. Once admitted, residents are expected to follow a set of rules, such as abstaining from drugs and alcohol, paying rent on time, and contributing to household chores. Violation of these rules, especially substance use, results in immediate removal from the home.
Each Oxford House follows three simple rules.
Growing up, I was https://ecosoberhouse.com/ very blessed with a very loving and supportive family who always told me I could do anything I set my mind to. I experienced a few different “traumas“ with men that would send me spiraling into addiction. By the time I was 25, I had been arrested for multiple DUI’s and drug possessions.
Drug and alcohol free
I was residing in residential treatment in Phoenix, Arizona after serving a one-year sentence in county jail. While I was in treatment, there was a presentation held about a recovery home call Oxford House. I was at the halfway mark of completing treatment and was on the search for Substance abuse a sober living situation that would be beneficial for my recovery. To be completely honest, I was dreading the fact of moving into sober living based on my past experiences.
How To Apply
The World Council is comprised of 12 members, 9 of which presently live in an Oxford House, 3 who are alumni. Members are elected each year at the Oxford House World Convention. 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.
- The Chapter is the place where all the members of the Oxford House family of individual houses help each other to stay on track and to remain effective.
- The fear and loneliness and defeat that I experienced was all-consuming and I didn’t see a way out.
- Since then courts have found that the same protection applies with respect to fire safety standards and rates charged property owners for property insurance coverage.
- Each house typically has between six and twelve members who vote on matters such as admissions, finances, and household rules.
This firm policy helps maintain a safe and sober environment for everyone involved. Any group of recovering individuals can start a new Oxford House. All they need to oxford house traditions do is to find a house to rent in the name of the group, and apply to Oxford House, Inc., for a charter. Once accepted, an Oxford House member can stay as long as they like, provided they stay drug and alcohol free, are not disruptive, and pay their share of house expenses. Well, my story is a long one and it’s been a lifetime of trauma and drugs to mask it.
- There are six house officers in each Oxford House, elected by the members to support the operations of the house.
- I assisted in numerous house trainings, as well as well as in the interview process for new members.
- On Monday May 29th, I will have been clean from drugs and alcohol for an entire year.
Second, every resident would contribute equally to the expenses and household duties. And, most important, anyone using drugs or alcohol would be expelled. For a couple of months in 1975, he found himself living on the streets and begging strangers for money before he entered a rehabilitation program. He moved to a county-run halfway house in Silver Spring, MD, to recover but soon learned that the facility was about to close.
The Oxford House Model istime-tested and evidence-based.
In contrast, Oxford Houses rely solely on residents’ pooled contributions. The absence of staff means that all responsibilities, from budgeting to conflict resolution, rest with the members. The average number of times an Oxford House resident has been through prior treatment is three, but for about a quarter of residents their Oxford House residency is after their first treatment episode. While research on AA has been limited by the role of anonymity in recovery, the willingness of the Oxford Houses to open their doors to academic research gives us an opportunity to see recovery from addiction in action.