Alternatively, you can apply online and your information will be sent to all of the Oxford Houses in your area that have an opening. Find a house, fill out the application, and call a house to schedule an interview. You will usually pay a nonrefundable fee, plus payment for your first two weeks, and you can move in. If you are not selected, you should try another house that has an opening.
Tradition I
Any member who drinks alcohol or uses drugs will be immediately expelled. Each member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month, utilities and basic staples for the https://ecosoberhouse.com/ house. Learn what makes Oxford House stand out as a unique model for recovery housing. Applicants must complete this membership application and be interviewed by the house they are looking to live at. It is not easy to spread the word of a new concept or an old concept with a new twist. Propagation, or spreading the word, of the Oxford House concept is given the highest priority by the members of Oxford House.
- List member’s assignments and rotate jobs so that everyone equally shares work to be done.
- Some operate for several years and then, because of expiration of a lease, dissatisfaction with the facilities, or simply the finding of a better location, the members of a particular House will move into a new location.
- Throughout its tradition, Oxford House has combined the concepts of self-support and responsibility with a fellowship having the common purpose of continued and comfortable sobriety.
Drug and alcohol free
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. At the Oxford House World Convention held annually, Oxford Houses throughout the country vote for representatives to the World Council. The World Council is comprised of 12 members, 9 of which presently live in an Oxford House, 3 who are alumni. There is no reason to believe that society as a whole had the responsibility to provide long-term housing within a protected environment for the alcoholic and drug addict. However, there is every reason to believe that recovering alcoholics and drug addicts can do for themselves that which society as a whole has no responsibility to do for them.
Tradition III
It continues to stand the test of time as a leading model in sober living. Our network of houses is only as strong as the community support we receive and the involvement of current and former members. Individuals living in each of the Oxford Houses have also been responsible for starting many new groups of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous having meetings near an Oxford House.
After the interview, the house members will decide if you’ll be allowed to move in by taking a vote. 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. Those who have benefited from an Oxford House have acquired enthusiasm for the Oxford House concept.
Interview
In Oxford House, each member equally shares the responsibility for the running of the House and upholding the Oxford House tradition. All aspects of Oxford House operations, from the acquisition of the house to the oxford house sober living acceptance or dismissal of members, is carried out under democratic procedures. Each member has one vote and majority rule applies except that 80% of the members must agree in accepting new persons for membership. 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.
- At a time when we acquired a serious desire to stop drinking or using drugs, many of us had lost our families and friends because of our alcoholism and/or drug addiction.
- Every opportunity should be given to a member who needs professional help to see that he obtains it.
- Be honest and straight-forward when sharing the Oxford House concept with others.
- In this respect, they are similar to a college fraternity, sorority, or a small New England town.
- When we stopped drinking, we began to realize that in order to stay stopped, our lives would need to change.
Tradition V
Once more applications are received than there are beds available, the members of any Oxford House will begin to look around for another suitable house. When they find such a house they will bring it up with the other existing Houses and if there is a consensus they will attempt to find the start up money and members to fill the new house. 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. 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. The Oxford House Model is shared, studied, and growing because it works.
The Oxford House Model provides a community based, supportive, and sober living environment.
- The Oxford House concept is a sound one, based on sound principles, and has demonstrated its worth with an established track record.
- (Since 1989, many new Oxford Houses have taken advantage of state revolving loan programs.
- The bond that holds the group together is the desire to stop drinking and stay stopped.
- Second, an Oxford House must follow the democratic principles in running the house.
- As our recovery progressed, the supervision and dependency on a half-way house created dissatisfaction.
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. Each Oxford House member, as an individual, considers himself a member of AA and/or NA.
Yet, needing a roof over your head isn’t the only reason to consider an Oxford House. These homes offer individuals a safe and secure place to live where they can learn responsibility, gain recovery support, and learn to live a sober life. Oxford Houses are self-run, self-supported recovery homes for same sexed individuals. These homes are typically found in quiet, nice neighborhoods and offer a drug and alcohol free living environment for those in early recovery. For many individuals who complete drug and alcohol treatment, returning home is the beginning of their relapse. And maybe they’ve got a reputation that people just don’t want to get over.
sober
The only members who marijuana addiction will ever be asked to leave an Oxford House are those who return to drinking, using drugs, or have disruptive behavior, including the nonpayment of rent. No Oxford House can tolerate the use of alcohol or drugs by one of its members because that threatens the sobriety of all of the members. Neither can an Oxford House function if some do not pay their fair share of the costs. When we stopped drinking, we began to realize that in order to stay stopped, our lives would need to change. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provided a framework for us to change physically, mentally, and spiritually. The degree to which we were able to successfully change our lives had a direct relationship to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.