Oxford House Recovery Homes: Characteristics and Effectiveness

It is no more difficult than for an ordinary family to find a house to rent. Each Oxford House is an ordinary single-family house with two bathrooms and four or more bedrooms. Ideally several of the bedrooms are large enough for two twin beds so that newcomers, in particular, are able to have a roommate. This discourages isolation and helps the newcomer to learn or relearn socialization to get the full benefit of recovering individuals helping each other to become comfortable enough in sobriety https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to avoid relapse.

Most Addictive Drug Types

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. We currently have received NIH support to begin researching individuals leaving jail and prison with substance abuse problems. This line of research could be expanded to other levels or target groups, such as men and women with substance abuse returning from foreign wars in Iraqi and Afghanistan.

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

• Nearly all members of Oxford House utilize the AA and/or NA program in order to obtain and keep a comfortable sobriety.
• Key findings include 63% of residents involved in mentoring others in recovery, 44% running support groups, and 56% involved in educating the community about Oxford House.
• We collected data at the individual, house, and state levels, and at times compared data over these different levels of analysis.
• To join an Oxford House, a person must undergo an application process that includes an interview with current residents, who must then approve the applicant by a two-thirds majority vote.
• Our group has recently received a federal grant to explore this new type of culturally modified recovery home.

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. There is considerable evidence for the effectiveness of TCs (DeLeon, & Rosenthal, 1989). Substantial reductions in recidivism rates have been found when in-prison Therapeutic Communities (TCs) are combined with community transition programs (Hiller, Knight, & Simpson, 1999; Wexler et al., 1996). Unfortunately, these TC programs often create a financial burden on society, and are not available to all that need them. Also, therapeutic community residents may stay only for a limited time before many return to former high-risk environments or stressful family situations (Goldsmith, 1992). As of 2008, there were 321 women’s Oxford Houses with 2,337 women, and 982 men’s Oxford Houses with 7,487 men, for a total of 1,303 houses serving 9,824 people (Oxford House, 2008).

Sober Living Homes & Oxford Houses

In its simplest form, an Oxford House describes a self-run, self-supported recovery houses. Rubicon Recovery Center in Watchung, NJ offers compassionate and personalized drug and alcohol addiction treatment. Each has a term limit of 6 months to further support a well functioning democratic environment. The Oxford House Model references the system of operations of a unique, time-tested model recognized by the Federal Government as an oxford house evidence-based practice shown to bring significant results currently unmatched in the recovery space.

• Regarding marital status, 45% had been never married, 18% were separated, 33% were divorced, and only 4% were married.
• Residents are encouraged to share their experiences, learn from one another, and help each other stay accountable.
• The only members who 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.
• The charter of each Oxford House requires that an Oxford House meet certain minimum requirements of Oxford House, Inc.
• The members of the new house agree to utilize the Oxford House Model’s system of operations and Oxford House, Inc. issues a no-cost charter.
• Recovering substance abusers living in these types of settings may develop a strong sense of bonding with similar others who share common abstinence goals.

One of the strongest predictors of criminal recidivism is substance use (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005). Of those with substance use addictions/dependence, only about 10% even reach any type of substance abuse treatment. This suggests a large need for creative new types of screening what is Oxford House methods to identify patients in need of treatment. Almost all medical problems are first identified by primary care and referred to specialists, but this is not the case with substance abuse disorders, where most individuals first approach specialist substance abuse treatment settings. The Office of National Drug Control Policy is currently considering recommending that primary care settings should identify people with substance abusers in primary care settings in order to refer more patients to detoxification and treatment. If this occurs, there will emerge unique opportunities for psychologists in both screening and referral.

Q. Are there Oxford Houses set up for special populations?

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. 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.

• These findings suggest that well-managed and well-functioning substance abuse recovery homes elicit constructive and positive attitudes toward these homes and individuals in recovery (Ferrari, Jason, Sasser et al., 2006).
• Moreover, American Indians reported greater disharmony within their recovery residences than Caucasians, but there were no significant ethnic differences in length of stay in Oxford House.
• Oxford House participants earned roughly $550 more per month than participants in the usual care group.
• It appears that adequate house income seems to be a necessary factor for houses continuing to function over time.