Oxford House Shows Promise in Maintaining Sobriety

A study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found sober living home residents experienced improvements in arrest rates, alcohol and drug use rates, and employment rates. The authors found evidence that 12-step program attendance and social support systems were key components of recovery for residents. The transition back to life outside of rehab is fraught with the potential for relapse.

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. Reports of post-traumatic illnesses and substance abuse among returning veterans suggests that cost effective programs like Oxford House need closer federal attention. 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).

Thinking About Returning To Oxford House?

Participants decided to move to an Oxford House based on information they received from counselors and peers indicating that Oxford House would facilitate their recovery. Prior to entering Oxford House, participants were concerned that House policies would be similar to those of half-way houses they had experienced (i.e., too restrictive). 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 . Of the residents, 18% were veterans, and 91% were working with average monthly earnings of $1,480. Most residents had been addicted to drugs or drugs and alcohol (73%) whereas 27% had been addicted to only alcohol. Regarding marital status, 45% had been never married, 18% were separated, 33% were divorced, and only 4% were married.

Few methodologically sound studies have emerged in the area of traditional recovery homes. In one of the few recovery home longitudinal studies, Polcin found that 51% of recovery home residents were abstinent from drugs and alcohol at a six-month follow-up. Regrettably, there are few studies reporting differential outcome data contrasting recovery home and therapeutic community residential treatments for substance abuse.

Adult Substance Use Recovery Residences

At South Jersey Recovery Residences Oxford homes in NJ, residents live under the management and guidance of House Managers, Our House Managers help maintain the safety and drug-free environment of the house. For example, house managers will regularly administer and monitor drug tests for residents. Since recovery residences can vary, the National Alliance for Recovery Residences defined four levels of support for recovery residences that you can find here.

Encourages attendance at evidence-based support meetings, such as 12-step programs. If the house provides transportation, residents will meet at a set time to attend school, work or outpatient treatment. What tends to happen is someone starts to digress in their recovery and their peers do not hold them accountable, therefore they start getting away with using drugs or drinking. This can go on for a significant period of time until someone is actually drug tested and asked to leave the house. In a peer-run Oxford Model, it is nearly impossible for providers to determine the health of the house. Providers invest significant time and energy in creating a safe, sustainable discharge plan for their clients, only to recommend a home that is peer run, dirty and potentially has people using in it.

Elected House Officers

Oxford Houses indicated that larger House size predicted less criminal and aggressive behavior. These data were used in 5 court cases, which were successful in arguing against closing down Oxford Houses that had more than 5 or 6 non-related residents. Although relapse is a common part of the recovery process, it threatens the recovery of all residents. Thus, individuals who relapse are usually removed from the sober living home as soon as possible.

They will seek employment and gain some stability by following simple house rules and attending 12-step or self-help meetings. Sober Living is a general term that refers to a substance-free living environment. Usually when people think of a Recovery Residence, they are thinking about a sober living that has some level of accountability and hierarchy. These houses are more likely to have an owner that is involved and a house manager that lives at oxford house sober living the house providing some level of accountability or support. MORE ON STUDY METHODS Apart from the initial random assignment to each of these conditions, participants were free to engage in other recovery support services as they wished. Thus, after individuals assigned to the Oxford House condition were brought to one of 20 residences across the state, current members voted on whether they could become a resident, as per Oxford House policy.