Oxford House

The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction treatment, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 2,000 Oxford Houses in the United States and other countries.

Each house is based on three rules:

Equal Expense Shared (EES) is generally between 80 and 160 dollars a week and includes utilities. A certain number of AA meetings a week may be mandatory. Weekly business meetings are mandatory to discuss any issues that the house may be facing. It is at these meetings that checks are written for bills and residents are made aware of where they stand financially.

The first Oxford House was opened in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1975 by Paul Molloy. Molloy had been a Senate committee staff member between 1967 and 1972. He sought treatment for his alcoholism in a halfway house in 1975. Later that year, the halfway house would close due to financial difficulty, and Molloy and the other residents took over the lease. They chose the name Oxford House in recognition of Oxford Group, a religious organization that influenced the founders of AA.

Business meetings are the core of Oxford House. All decisions are made based upon a vote by all members of the house. A typical Oxford House has five positions, however each person still has only one vote. These positions are:

DePaul University's Center for Community Research, led by Dr. Leonard A. Jason, has been involved in a research study of Oxford House since 1988. It was found that the characteristics of people living in an Oxford House did not vary significantly from people in other substance abuse programs. The primary reason cited for moving into an Oxford House was companionship and the enforcement of a sober living environment. Approximately three quarters of the residents involved in the study were involved with the Alcoholics Anonymous program. The average stay was about 175 days, and over a two-year period 69% of those interviewed self-reported that they stayed in the house or left on good terms. The paper stated that:

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