The services, rent, rules and living conditions at what is a oxford house sober living homes vary from place to place. Some homes are part of a behavioral health care system where residents live next to a rehab clinic, participate in outpatient therapy and have access to the clinic’s recreational activities. Residents are encouraged to share their experiences, learn from one another, and help each other stay accountable. In addition to the support from fellow residents, many Oxford House members also participate in external recovery programs and support groups, further strengthening their commitment to sober living. Unfortunately, there have not been any outcome studies comparing TCs with Oxford Houses, although the first author currently has a NIDA funded study that is exploring this issue.

• With adequate funding, large clinical trials can emerge and adequate personnel can be employed for the arduous task of tracking over time these at-risk samples.
• During 2007, the inhabitants of Oxford Houses expended approximately $47,814,156 to pay the operational expenses of the houses.
• The goal of sober living homes is to monitor and improve health, safety and wellness using peer support.

Who benefits from halfway housing?

Recidivism rates within one year following treatment are high for men and women, and 52–75% of all alcoholics drop out during treatment (Montgomery et al., 1993). 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. It provides quality control by organizing regional heroin addiction Houses into Chapters and by relying heavily upon the national network of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups. While Oxford House is not affiliated with AA or NA, its members realize that recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction can only be assured by the changing of their lifestyle through full participation in AA and NA. In most communities, the members of those organizations help Oxford Houses get started and report any charter compliance problems to the national office of Oxford House World Services with respect to a particular house.

There are over 3,500 Oxford Houses across the United States

• Limited research, however, is available regarding how Oxford House settings compare to other treatments.
• These findings suggest that a high level of psychiatric severity is not an impediment to residing in self-run, self-help settings such as Oxford House among persons with psychiatric co-morbid substance use disorders.
• To learn more about different types of recovery housing and their accreditation, you can visit the National Association of Recovery Residences (NARR) website.
• These homes are typically found in quiet, nice neighborhoods and offer a drug and alcohol free living environment for those in early recovery.
• Many sober living homes refer the resident to a drug addiction rehab center or offer another form of treatment.

Residents, not staff, manage Oxford Houses, making them self-governed rather than supervised. Some sober living homes have exercise equipment, fitness areas, recreational space, pools and cookout areas. The homes may also be near an outpatient treatment center or on the campus of residential rehab facility. In NARR homes, the goal is to protect the health of all residents, not to punish the resident experiencing relapse.

How do Oxford Houses operate, and what makes them unique in the sober living community?

Each group obtains a charter from Oxford House, Inc., the umbrella organization for the national network of individual Oxford Houses. Oxford House is a unique type of recovery facility that offers a supportive environment focused on peer-based recovery. This section will compare Oxford House facilities with other common types of recovery facilities, such as halfway houses and sober living homes. In 1975, a tight budget in Montgomery County, Maryland led to a decision to close one of the four county-run halfway houses.

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

Too often, newly recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are faced with the necessity of living alone and of relying solely on contacts with Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous to stay sober. Some are able to keep from drinking in spite of the loneliness with which they were faced. 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.

Each Oxford House follows three simple rules.

The degree to which we were able to successfully change our lives had a direct relationship to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Many of us soon learned, however, that living alone or living among our old drinking companions made it more difficult to practice the principles necessary for continued sobriety. The flexibility of Oxford House residency can be particularly appealing to those unsure of their recovery timeline. With no enforced end date, residents can take the time they need to feel fully prepared to reintegrate into independent living. This approach helps reduce relapse risk, as members can gradually transition with support from others on similar journeys. In response, policymakers have attempted to create laws allowing states to regulate sober living homes.

• 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).
• To learn more about the importance of recovery housing, you can read this NIDA article on recovery housing.
• In carrying out its mission the Council always keeps a focus on expansion of the network of individual Oxford Houses, to provide all recovering alcoholics and drug addictions the opportunity to develop comfortable sobriety without relapse.
• An Oxford House member can stay as long as they like, provided they stay drug and alcohol free and pay their share of house expenses.
• Sober living homes are maintained through fees, and residents can usually stay as long as they want.