Individuals who open a new Oxford House, as you might imagine, intend to use the property as an Oxford House. To start an Oxford House, a group of recovering individuals with a Charter from Oxford House, Inc. will lease a single-family house in a good neighborhood oxford house traditions to pursue long term recovery as a group by following the battle-tested and time-honored Oxford House model. According to the Oxford House model, as each founding member moves out, a new member who shares the group’s common pursuit is voted in.
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).
Main Outcome Studies
Most homes have household meetings nightly, and residents often attend treatment, support group meetings or other wellness activities together. Sober living homes are maintained through fees, and residents can usually stay as long as they want. There is no in-house treatment or requirement to attend a specific recovery program, but 12-step participation is popular in Oxford Houses. A new house member must be interviewed by current residents and must receive an 80 percent vote of approval to be accepted.
Among individuals with high 12-step involvement, the addition of Oxford House residence significantly increased the rates of abstinence (87.5% vs. 52.9%). Results suggested that the joint effectiveness of these mutual-help programs may promote abstinence and extended our previous research indicating that OH residents frequently engage in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ 12-step program use (Nealon-Woods, Ferrari, & Jason, 1997). For many individuals who complete drug and alcohol treatment, returning home is the beginning of their relapse. 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.
How Much Do Sober Living Homes Cost?
Half the individuals interviewed also had concerns about being the only Hispanic/Latino House member. Despite their initial concerns, participants reported overwhelmingly positive experiences in Oxford House, with the majority of interviewees indicating that they “blended into the house” within their first few weeks. Most participants reported regular contact with extended family members and stated that family members supported their decisions to live in Oxford House. The most commonly endorsed suggestion for increasing Hispanic/Latino representation in Oxford House was to provide more information regarding this innovative mutual-help program. Residents indicated that personal motivation for recovery was a necessary component of their success in Oxford House (Alvarez, Jason, Davis, Ferrari, & Olson, 2007). Additionally, mutual help, social support, a sober living environment, and accountability emerged as strongly-endorsed therapeutic elements of the Oxford House model.
