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 12-step program use (Nealon-Woods, Ferrari, & Jason, 1997). An American Journal of Public Health study compared individuals who lived in a sober living home to those who only received outpatient treatment or attended self-help groups. The daily schedule at sober living homes is heavily influenced by the residents’ current stage of recovery. Some homes are highly structured, with strict schedules and consistent eating and meeting times. An average day at a sober living home usually includes group breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Most homes have household meetings nightly, and residents often attend treatment, support group meetings or other wellness activities together.

The property must therefore be leased to the House to accurately reflect that the House is leasing the property for the benefit of the House as a group and that the House will be responsible as a group. Globally, seasonal flu epidemics are estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people every year. Despite having known about influenza for almost a century and knowing that pandemic influenza remains one of the greatest threats to human health, we still do not have effective drugs for treating people with severe influenza. Oxford House offers a supportive way of living and opportunities to learn life skills in a clean and sober environment. During 2010, approximately 24,000 individuals lived in an Oxford House for some or part of the year.

How Sober Living Houses Work

A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that most Oxford House residents stayed more than a year, but some residents stayed more than three years. Because the property will be used in this way, the lease must be structured as a rental agreement between the landlord and the Oxford House as a group (e.g., “Oxford House Main Street”), rather than between the landlord and the House’s members as individuals. Today, they have become the norm what is an oxford house for the thirty-nine states and two hundred-nineteen cities in which Oxford House operates. The leases are exactly the same as a lease to a single family but with certain important distinctions. The RECOVERY trial, which discovered four effective treatments for COVID-19, has expanded to investigate treatments for influenza (flu). This study found that 81.5% of the participants who left Oxford House residences, reported no substance use during the following 1 year.

In response, policymakers have attempted to create laws allowing states to regulate sober living homes. Studies indicate that living in sober homes after inpatient treatment increases recovery rates, financial strength and overall stability. Establishing a sober lifestyle is difficult during the early stages of recovery. You need somewhere safe you can go after treatment, a place where you’ll be free of triggers and surrounded by social support. Second, only a lease to the House as a group accurately reflects that the House is responsible as a group.

Q. What is the philosophy behind Oxford House?

Other general community activities reported by participants included working with youth (32%), fundraising (30%), and volunteering time with community organizations (23%). These findings indicate that Oxford House residents are not only working on their own recovery, but also working to make positive changes in their communities. 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 (Oxford House, 2008). 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.

A 2010 article examined the characteristics of the houses and participants and also reviewed two studies funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). 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. Generally an individual comes into an Oxford House following a 28-day rehabilitation program or at least a 5 to10-day detoxification program. Oxford Houses are democratically self-run by the residents who elect officers to serve for terms of six months.