Mar 22, 2024
Oxford House Traditions: What I Wish I Knew Before Moving In
By the time Alcoholics Anonymous many of us had stopped drinking, we had lost jobs; we had lost families, and some of us either had no place to live or no place to live which was not an invitation to start drinking again. Oxford House was founded not only to put a roof over our head, but also to create a home where the disease of alcoholism was understood and the need for the alcoholic to stay away from the first drink was emphasized. The bond that holds the group together is the desire to stop drinking and stay stopped.
sober
The dissatisfaction was in part the realization that we were shirking responsibility for our own lives and in part a resentment of authority. The third factor affecting us both in the rehabilitation facilities and the half-way houses was the realization that the duration of our stay must be limited because space must be made for others in need of help. The Oxford House Model provides community based, supportive, and sober living environment. Q. What if there is not an Oxford House in the area or there are no vacancies in any Oxford House in the region? All they need to do is to find a house to rent in the name of the Group, and apply to Oxford House, Inc., for a charter. In its simplest form, an Oxford House is a shared residence where people in recovery can live together and support each other in a drug and alcohol-free environment.
- Decisions are made democratically through a majority vote of the residents present at the weekly house meeting.
- They will return to their families; they may start new families; they may simply move into another living situation.
- The dissatisfaction was in part the realization that we were shirking responsibility for our own lives and in part a resentment of authority.
- During early recovery for alcoholism and drug addiction, some members had to leave an institution in order to make room for an alcoholic or drug addict just beginning the recovery process.
Acceptance
Oxford House gave me the opportunity to practice the oxford house rules principles and action. View and download the latest House and Chapter Manuals, along with other forms used to conduct weekly house meetings. Each house adheres to the absolute requirement that any member who returns to using alcohol or drugs must be immediately expelled.
World Council
There’s no time limit on how long a member can live in an Oxford House. The average stay is about a year, but many members stay three, four, or more years. While no one is ever asked to leave an Oxford House without cause, some individuals will simply outgrow living in an Oxford House. They will return to their families; they may start new families; they may simply move into another living situation. The concept and the standardized, democratic, self-supported Oxford House system of operations itself are far more persuasive than any individual.
Once more applications are received than there are beds available, the members of any Oxford House will begin to look around for another suitable house. When they find such a house they will bring it up with the other existing Houses and if there is a consensus they will attempt to find the start up money and members to fill the new house. Often several members of an existing House will move into the new House to provide a core group of new members who already know how an Oxford House works.
Maintaining Sobriety: Zero Tolerance
Every Oxford House member attributes his sobriety to Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous. Each Oxford House member, as an individual, considers himself a member of AA and/or NA. List member’s assignments and rotate jobs so that everyone equally shares work to be done.
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