The legacy of Oxford House is forever secure as long as the concept, Traditions and system of operations is assured by oxford house traditions control of its members through participation in an effective democratic system of organization. Oxford House, Inc. acts as the coordinating body for providing charters for the opening of new Oxford Houses. It also acts as the coordinating body to help individual houses to organize mutually supportive chapters. Through chapters individual houses are able to share their experience, strength and hope with each other to assure compliance with the Oxford House concept and its respected standardized system of operations. The charter of each Oxford House requires that an Oxford House meet certain minimum requirements of Oxford House, Inc.

• 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.
• 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.
• View and download the latest House and Chapter Manuals, along with other forms used to conduct weekly house meetings.
• Each member pays EES (Equal Expense Share) which includes the total amount of rent due for the month, utilities and basic staples for the house.
• It provides quality control by organizing regional Houses into Chapters and by relying heavily upon the national network of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups.
• In its simplest form, an Oxford House is a shared residence where people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction can live together and support each other in a drug and alcohol-free environment.
• Electing members to staggered three-year terms of office assures continuity of the 12-member World Council.

Q. What is an Oxford House Charter?

Oxford House has enabled peer-run, self-sustaining, and substance-free housing since 1975. Things that I have learned through AA and Oxford House are an attitude of gratitude, acceptance, love, forgiveness, compassion, and the willingness to take that next step. Oxford House gave me the opportunity to practice the principles and action. Find a house, fill out the application, and call a house to schedule an interview.

Q. Can both men and women live in the same Oxford House?

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. 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. The Oxford House Model provides community based, supportive, and sober living environment. More than 80 percent of Oxford House residents remain clean and sober for the long term even though many of them come from backgrounds that have included lengthy alcohol and drug use, periods of homelessness, and incarceration. Yes, the prospective residents of the House can find a suitable house, rent it, put up the security deposit and pay the first month’s rent themselves.

• If an applicant does not get voted into one house they should try another house in the area.
• The reason that each Oxford House is independent arises from the very practical consideration that those who are closest to a situation are best able to manage it.
• Oxford House is built on the premise of expanding in order to meet the needs of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

Forms and Manuals

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. Oxford House must always have as its Primary goal the provision of housing and rehabilitative support for the alcoholic who wants to stop drinking and stay stopped and the drug addict who wants to stop using drugs and stay stopped. In fact, Oxford House creates an environment whereby each member can more fully realize the benefits available from active AA or NA membership.

Q. How many residents have served jail time?

This prohibition requires local governments to make a reasonable accommodation in their zoning laws to enable handicap individuals to effectively deal with their disability. 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. Oxford House set out for national expansion by hiring the first outreach workers to start opening houses in other states. With passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, expansion of Oxford Houses exploded. During the early 1990s dozens of communities sought to close Oxford Houses located in good neighborhoods because local zoning ordinances restricted the number of unrelated individuals that could live together in a single-family home. In 1975, Montgomery County, Maryland decided to close a traditional halfway house because of a lack of funds.

Each member has an equal voice in the group and each has an opportunity to relearn responsibility and to accept decisions once they are made. Generally an individual comes into an Oxford House following a 28-day rehabilitation program or at least a 5 to10-day detoxification program. The applicant will call the contact person for each house they’re interested in to set up an interview.

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. The average length of jail time is about one year, with a range of few days to more than ten years. This is understandable since as many as 80% of the current jail/prison population are alcoholics and drug addicts. Oxford Houses seem to stop the recycling in and out of jail or treatment facilities. Yes, there are Oxford Houses in Canada, Australia and Ghana with active interest in England, Bulgaria and other countries.

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

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. When you call a house to set up an interview you can ask them how much their EES is. 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.

Support our Cause

The Oxford House Model is shared, studied, and growing because it works. It continues to stand the test of time as a leading model in sober living. By 1988, the number of individual Oxford Houses had become so great that it became difficult to have a meeting at which everyone would get a chance to speak.

Q. How many individuals lived in an Oxford House during 2010?

Other members were asked to leave half-way houses in order to make room for a recovering alcoholic or recovering drug addict who was ready to move into a half-way house. Only the very fortunate are able to make such a transition upon demand. Each individual recovers from alcoholism or drug addiction at a Halfway house different pace. 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. 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.