Each Oxford House is self-sufficient and self-managed. The members of an Oxford Chamber assume full responsibility for the functioning of the Chamber. The Chamber is yours and in no way is it part of any other organization. The rent charged to members is determined by the members themselves in a democratic manner.
The rules that govern the house are also established, for the most part, by those who live in a particular Oxford House. Such autonomy is essential for the Oxford House system to work. One of the most difficult decisions that members of the Oxford House of Representatives must make is the decision to evict someone from the house. Many people who lived a block away didn't even know that a recovery home existed in their neighborhood, and the attitudes of these people who didn't know the members of the Oxford House of Representatives were generally less positive with respect to these types of recovery homes.
Molloy and his fellow residents in recovery observed that, during the time they lived in the social reintegration center, 11 of the 12 men who were forced to leave after reaching the limit of six months of stay ended up relapsing. A study compared 75 people who entered an Oxford House after detoxification with another 75 who went to social reintegration centers or returned to the community. While some states have loan programs to help build houses, each house is otherwise self-sufficient and governed by its own residents. Two of the current Oxford homes in Springfield that opened their doors since then haven't requested changes, but city officials probably wouldn't demand that the houses get changed unless neighbors complained, city spokesman Ernie Slottag said.
It's important for Oxford House residents, despite their internal problems with sobriety, to be good neighbors, said Leon Venable, a resident of the Chicago area, a former Oxford House resident whose Kalimba House Corp. Molloy explained that a residence can be called Oxford House if it houses at least six people, is democratically run by the residents themselves, and is committed to removing anyone found to be using substances from the home. Oxford House's main objective is to provide housing and rehabilitation support for alcoholics or drug addicts who want to stop drinking or using and continue not doing so. Ferrari, Vincent DePaul's distinguished professor, attributed the success of the Oxford House system to the reality that the sense of home is very important to people and that the method respects the individuality and dignity of each person who lives in an Oxford House.
Practicing psychologists can make a referral to an Oxford House by asking the patient to call the Oxford House and schedule an appointment with the members of the household for possible entry to that home. Rather than applying a strict disciplinary approach to many long-term drug recovery programs, Oxford Houses relies on residents to establish their internal rules and a support network to keep each other drug-free. She is also the owner of a home in Oxford and trains new residents in the private positions they will occupy in their home. Once a new house is up and running, you return the money to the old houses that had lent you money and you are ready to help another new house.
Mandatory weekly meetings at home can be controversial, as residents discuss issues ranging from violations of housing regulations to late rent payments and different domestic hygiene standards. By running Oxford House on a democratic basis, Oxford House members can accept the authority of the group because the group is a group of peers. .
