Oxford House: Self-Run, Self-Supported Recovery Housing: Annual Report

2018·3.8 MB·English

by  Conlon, Jerry (Board Chair)

Oxford House, Inc.
Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2017
™
Oxford House
Self-run, Self-supported Recovery Housing
Oxford House, Inc.
1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 300
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
www.oxfordhouse.org
About Oxford House, Inc. Board Members
Oxford House, Inc. [OHI] is the Delaware nonprofit, 501(c)(3) Jerry Conlon, Chairman
corporation that serves as the umbrella organization of the worldwide Former Executive
network of more than 2,200 individual Oxford Houses. Its central office CNW Railway
is at 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 300, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
Evanston, IL 60201
The program can be developed on a national scale at very low cost and
it supports recovery without relapse. William C. Paley*
William C. Paley Foundation
Oxford House™ is a concept and system of operations based on the Washington, DC 20036
experience of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts who learned that
behavior change is essential to recovery from alcoholism and drug William Newman
addiction. They also learned that Oxford House provided the living Attorney, District of Columbia
environment that could help them become comfortable enough with Washington, DC 20006
abstinent behavior to stay clean and sober without relapse.
Judy O’Hara
The Oxford House Manual© is the basic blueprint that provides the Attorney, District of Columbia
organization and structure that permit groups of recovering individuals Washington, DC 20036
to successfully live together in a supportive environment. All Oxford
Houses are rented ordinary single-family houses in good neighborhoods. Col. Kenneth Hoffman, M.D.
There are Oxford Houses for men and Oxford Houses for women but Retired US Army
there are no co-ed houses. The average number of residents per house Rockville, MD 20850
nationally is about 8 with a range per house of 6 to 16.
J. Paul Molloy*
Chief Executive Officer
Oxford Houses work because they: (1) have no time limit for how long
a resident can live in an Oxford House; (2) follow a democratic system Oxford House, Inc.
of operation; (3) utilize self-support to pay all the household expenses; Silver Spring, MD 20910
and (4) adhere to the absolute requirement that any resident who returns
James McClain*
to using alcohol or drugs must be immediately expelled. Oxford House
Retired USPS
provides the missing elements needed by most alcoholics and drug
addicts to develop behavior to assure total abstinence. It provides the Temple Hills, MD 20748
time, peer support and structured living environment necessary for long-
Thomas O’Hara
term behavior change to take hold.
Former Executive
Prudential Securities
Individuals living in an Oxford House learn or relearn values and
responsible behavior and, slowly but surely, they develop long-term McLean VA 22102
behavior to assure comfortable sobriety – forever. Some individuals live
Janice E. Jordan
in Oxford Houses a few months; others for many years. By using
Retired Virginia BHDS
participatory democracy and self-support, alcoholics, drug addicts and
Glen Allen, VA 23060
those with co-occurring mental illness develop long-term recovery.
Robert L. DuPont, M.D.
After 43 years of steady growth and successful recovery outcomes,
Institute for Behavior and
Oxford House™ has been proven to work. It is also a very cost-effective
Health, Inc.
way to support long-term recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction and
Rockville, MD 20852
co-occurring mental illness. At the end of 2017, there were 2,287
Oxford Houses with 18,025 beds throughout the country. Stuart Gitlow, M.D.
Past President, ASAM
Oxford House is listed as a best practice on the National Registry of
Woonsocket, RI 02895
Evidence-based Programs and Practices [NREPP] and was singled out
as an effective tool for long-term recovery in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Tim Ring*
report: “Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report World Council Chairperson
on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, 2016.” Oklahoma City, OK 73120
Silver Spring, Maryland
January 30, 2018 *Alumnus or Resident
TABLE OF CONTENTS
National Profile ............................................................................ 2
Message from the CEO ………………………..……................. 3
Management Report .................................................................... 5
Oxford House: Unique, Time-tested, Evidence-based ….......... 8
Opioid Addiction – What’s Needed Now ……………….……. 10
Meeting Demand Through Technology and Expansion ….12
The Oxford House Family ......................................................... 14
Houses Helping Houses – And Giving Back ............................ 18
Trust But Teach .......................................................................... 20
Highlights of the 2017 Oxford House World Convention ....... 22
FY 2017 Financials ...................................................................... 28
A Few Houses in the Oxford House Network .....................,..... 32
NEXT OXFORD HOUSE CONVENTION
Kansas City, Missouri
October 4-7, 2018
1
NATIONAL PROFILE

Good Houses in Good Neighborhoods
Oxford House Fast Facts

Oxford House – Hampton (pictured at the

left) is an Oxford House for 8 men that was
established in Hampton, Virginia on • 18,025 - Number of Oxford
February 1, 1998. It is one of 137 Oxford Recovery Beds
Houses in Virginia. It has been home to 320
men in recovery. Only 64 have had to leave • 2,287 - Number of Oxford
because of relapse. It is an example of how
Houses as of December 31,
Oxford Houses continue year after year.
2017

There are houses for men; houses for
w omen; houses for women with children and • 44 - Number of States having
Oxford House – Hampton houses for men with children but there are no Oxford Houses
Hampton, Virginia co-ed houses.

• 31 – Number of Oxford Houses
Creating an Effective National Recovery Network One House at a Time
in D.C. [269 Beds]

National Oxford House Resident Profile1
• 481 - Number of towns and
cities having Oxford Houses
Number of Women’s Houses: 669 Recovery Beds for Women: 5,153

• $1,895 - Average monthly
Number of Houses for Men: 1,618 Recovery Beds for Men: 12,872
income of residents
National Network of Houses: 2,287 Total Recovery Beds: 18,025
• $123 - Average weekly share
Number of States with Houses: 44 Cities with Oxford Houses: 481
of expenses paid by Oxford

Average Age of Residents 37.2 Percent Veterans 12% residents

Average Educational Level 12.2 yrs. Range of Educational Level 3-19 yrs.
• 68% of Oxford House

Average Cost/Person Per Week: $123 Average Rent/Group/Month $1,526 residents had been homeless
for an average total length of
Residents Working: 87% Average Monthly Earnings: $1,895
7.9 months

Percent Addicted to Both Drugs Percent Addicted to Only
and Alcohol: 79% Alcohol: 21% • 79% addicted to drugs and

alcohol – 21% just alcohol
Race -- Marital Status --

White; 69% Never Married 48%
• 77% had done jail time
Black; 22% Separated 18%
connected to their addiction
Other 9% Divorced 28%
Married 5% • 13.4 months - Average length
Widowed 1% of sobriety

Prior Homelessness: 68% Average Time Homeless: 7.9 Mos.
• 263 - New Oxford Houses
Prior Jail: 77% Average Jail Time: 13.4 Mos. started CY 2017 (101 houses

for women; 162 for men)
Average AA or NA Meetings Percent Going To
Per Week: 5.2 Counseling plus AA/NA: 45%
• 2,106 Total Added Recovery
Average Length of Sobriety of Residents Expelled
Beds (1,340 for men: 766 for
House Residents: 13.4 Mos. Because of Relapse: 21.9%
women).
Average Length of Stay In an Average No. of Applicants
Oxford House: 8.3 Mos. For Each Vacant Bed: 4.4 • CY 2017 residents: 37,852
with 21.9% expelled because
of relapse.
1 As of June 30, 2017 based on standard OHI survey and house reports. Number of houses and
beds is as of December 31, 2017.
2
MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Oxford House™ is now 43 years old and has become a significant tool for helping people
to achieve long-term recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. I am often asked how
the Oxford House™ success has been achieved. I always start my response by pointing
out that the organization has kept its focus solely on recovery by not owning any real estate
or accumulating wealth. Even well-meaning folks can mess things up by trying to make
a buck by exploiting addiction and recovery. From its beginning, Oxford House™ has
avoided that temptation.
The second wise decision of Oxford House™ was to rely upon organizational forms that
are embedded in American culture – egalitarianism, participatory democracy and self-
help. The only good thing that can be said about alcoholism and drug addiction is that
they are egalitarian diseases. Early on, Oxford House™ residents celebrated the
egalitarian nature of recovery. Participatory democracy lies at the heart of the American
Constitution and the quest for a more perfect union. Self-help sparked by the American
Revolution weaves itself throughout American history. De Tocqueville marveled at it in
1835, particularly with respect to temperance movements, and self-help continues to be at
the heart of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
The Oxford House Manual© sets forth a pragmatic application of these basic values. It
was written in 1975. It has become the touchstone for thousands of recovering individuals
who decided to rent an ordinary house, equally share household expenses and manage its
operations in a way to build self-confidence and support long-term recovery. Old-timers
in AA always used to say, “All you need to start a new AA meeting is two folks with a
resentment and a coffee pot.” Starting a new Oxford House requires a little more structure.
The OHI central service office works with Houses to explain and implement the structure.
The charter becomes the entry point for any group starting an Oxford House™. In addition
to requiring that the group accommodate six or more individuals, the charter sets forth
three basic conditions: [1] the group must be democratically self-run following the process
and procedures in the Oxford House Manual©; [2] the group must be financially self-
supporting; and [3] the group must immediately expel any resident who returns to drinking
alcohol or using illicit drugs. Any group of six or more recovering persons can be granted
a charter and there is no charge. The charter is granted initially on a probationary basis
and, during the first six months, the group must demonstrate that it understands and abides
by the Oxford House system of operations. Once a new group understands the system, it
is granted a permanent charter that can only be revoked for noncompliance.
Every resident pays an equal share of household expenses and
House Officers
has an equal voice in all house operations. Five House officers
are elected by the group. They serve for only six months at a President
time. The weekly business meeting becomes the forum for Secretary
resolving all issues and disputes that may arise from a group of Treasurer
people living together and includes expulsion of residents who Comptroller
relapse and acceptance of new residents. If you ask ten residents, Chore Coordinator
“Who manages the house?,” nine out of ten will respond, “Oh,
the ‘inmates run the asylum’ and it works just fine, thank you.”
The self-run feature of Oxford Houses has two advantages: [1] it saves expenses by not
having a paid staff in the House, and [2] it helps builds self-esteem because residents take
pride in being responsible for running the House themselves. The self-esteem is
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particularly important because it is tied to recovery and helps convince the resident that
recovery has benefits worth keeping. Similarly, the bill-paying and socialization among
house residents provide recovery support. Above all, residents can live in an Oxford
House™ for as long as they want provided they do not drink or use illicit drugs and pay
their equal share of expenses. This is vital because different individuals take different
lengths of time to become comfortable enough in recovery to avoid relapse. In 1975, the
halfway house that preceded Oxford House™ had a six-month time limit. During the first
three months that I was a resident in that halfway house, eleven residents had to leave
because their time was up and ten of the eleven relapsed within 30 days! Because of that
experience, we decided that Oxford Houses would have no arbitrary time limits.
Today, it is pretty easy to find a good house to rent in a nice neighborhood but it was not
easy in the early days of Oxford House™ expansion. Fortunately, Oxford House, Inc.
[OHI], the national umbrella organization, has provided the oversight and civil rights
protection needed to put Oxford Houses in good neighborhoods. The first five houses we
opened in New Jersey all faced NIMBY [not-in-my-back-yard] zoning problems. It was
only through the persistence of OHI that litigation resolved those cases in our favor. As a
matter of fact, in 1995, a Washington State case – City of Edmonds, WA v. Oxford House,
Inc. reached the US Supreme Court. OHI won and has won similar civil rights cases with
respect to landlord insurance coverage and fire safety issues.
The legal expertise of OHI makes certain that leases are lawful, federal tax identification
numbers are obtained, house bank accounts are opened, utility services are provided in the
name of the house and civil rights are protected across the board. Any one of these matters
could thwart development of successful recovery houses. Fortunately, OHI has built a
good knowledge base and has a ready supply of highly skilled legal experts.
OHI employs and trains outreach workers who educate communities, health care
providers, correction personnel and local recovery communities about the nuts and bolts
of Oxford Houses and serve as resource persons to Oxford House residents. Houses also
form chapters and state associations. Education is always ongoing and a side benefit is
community-building and socialization. Most of us have been ‘bowling alone’ for too long
and need to become part of a larger social community.
Once a year, residents and alumni from around the country gather for an annual
convention. Some call it a family reunion. More than 1,200 Oxford House residents and
alumni attended the 2017 Convention. All brought the good news of long-term recovery
back home and shared the excitement of being part of important research projects on
recovery. Most realized that living in an Oxford House makes recovery fun. If recovery
were not fun, what alcoholic or drug addict would ever stay in recovery?
As a nation, we are beginning to grapple with the opioid crisis. Opioid addiction is not
new to Oxford House. A section in this report entitled, “Opioid Addiction – What’s
Needed Now,” identifies lessons learned from our 43-year history that apply to the current
crisis. Other sections of the report explain the Oxford House program in more detail,
present excerpts from personal stories from residents and alumni, show highlights of the
2017 convention and present the FY2017 financial report. We are proud or our program
and all of our Oxford House residents and alumni. We hope you are also.
4
MANAGEMENT REPORT
FY 2017 was another successful year for Oxford House Inc. (OHI). Over the course of the year, the
number of Oxford Houses (and recovery beds) continued to rise, quality control remained high, and finances
remained stable. OHI’s main focus was on expanding the program to provide more opportunities for individ-
uals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction to achieve long-term sobriety without relapse and become
fully integrated into the broader society.
Expansion
Led by Paul Molloy, CEO and Kathleen Gibson, COO, the organization added 2,106 new recovery beds as
OHI chartered 263 new Oxford Houses in 30 states and the District of Columbia – 101 for women and 162 for
men. At the end of calendar year 2017, the Oxford House network consisted of a total of 2,287 individual
Oxford Houses with a combined total of
18,025 recovery beds. Demand for Oxford
House residency remained high and, on aver-
age, there were more than four applicants for
each vacancy that arose during the year. Ex-
pansion was particularly strong in states and
localities that supported the creation of new
Oxford Houses through the provision of
start-up loan funds and grants to permit
OHI to send trained outreach workers to start
houses and assist with quality control. Once
started, all Oxford Houses are self-­‐run and
self-­‐supported in accordance with their char-
ter conditions. OHI expenses related to overhead are minimal [4¢ of each dollar]. Oxford Houses residents
spend about $16 to operate individual Oxford Houses for every $1 spent by OHI – the umbrella organization.
In FY 2017, OHI had development contracts with eighteen states and DC as well as with some treatment
providers, localities and drug courts. OHI provides some support for the creation of new houses in other
places by using private grants and voluntary contributions – including contributions from Oxford House resi-
dents – to provide limited loan funds and outreach worker support. On a voluntary basis, many individual
Oxford Houses and chapters contribute to OHI. In FY 2017, individual Oxford Houses and chapters contrib-
uted a total of $545,954 in voluntary contributions toward OHI’s total expenditures of $7,240,189 or 7.5% of
total expenditures.
Once a cluster of houses is developed in an area, it becomes easier to expand because the existing Oxford
Houses and chapters are able to find new houses to rent and to carry on development with minimal support
from OHI. Once providers and state officials see the effectiveness of Oxford House™ development, experi­
ence has shown they are generally eager to support expansion of the network of Oxford Houses. The new
Oxford Houses added in 2017 are but one indication of the growing realization that Oxford House™ is an
important resource for long-­‐term recovery.
OHI uses a number of time-­‐tested protocols to establish and maintain the network of individual Oxford
Houses. Clusters of houses are encouraged to form mutually-supportive chapters to facilitate networking
between houses and to help monitor charter compliance. In a similar way, chapters group together to form
mutually-supportive statewide associations. Training materials and standardized operating procedures are pro-
vided to all chartered houses, chapters and state associations. The central OHI office in Silver Spring,
Maryland, also trains and supervises field workers to do outreach to states and communities throughout the
United States and in some foreign countries.
.
5
Financial Results
Overall, OHI finances remained stable and OHI continued to support the expansion and maintenance of the
network of Oxford Houses in an extremely cost-­‐effective manner. Expenditures by OHI in FY 2017 were
$250,015 less than income.
Total income in FY 2017 was $7,490,205. Income sources
are shown in the chart at the left. Federal Awards are almost
entirely state block grant funds used by various states to pay
for development and maintenance of existing networks of
Oxford Houses. State and Local Awards are agreements that
do not include federal block grant or pass- through federal
funding. Contributions of $608,331 include $545,954 vol-
untarily made by about 27% of the individual Oxford Houses
either directly or through the mutually-supportive chapters.
OHI’s expenditures for FY 2017 totaled $7,240,189. The
allocation of expenditures is shown in the chart at the right.
Of every dollar spent, 96¢ goes directly to program costs to
expand and maintain the network of Oxford Houses. Per-
sonnel, travel and telephone costs account for nearly 63%
of costs. Outreach grants include expenses for covering the
equal share of household expenses for part-time employees
to help train residents in newly established Oxford Houses.
In 2017, OHI outreach workers operated in 34 states and
Ghana. Oxford Houses are located in 44 states, DC, and
four other countries.
A copy of the audited financials and notes to financials is included at the end of this report.
Transparency and Research
OHI conducts internal surveys and encourages academic third-party research. Both NIAAA and NIDA have
devoted federal behavioral research dollars to studying the Oxford House program and its effect on developing
long-term recovery. DePaul University researchers alone have produced more than 175 articles showing how
Oxford House living relates to recovery. From the DePaul research, Oxford Houses have been able to affirm
that they are on the right track. Internal surveys are used to understand more about the residents of Oxford
Houses and the maintenance of their sobriety.
Proven Effectiveness of the Oxford House Program
From 2011, until it stopped publishing the Registry, the federal government
(SAMHSA) listed the Oxford House program as a best practice on the National
Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices [NREPP]. Also, Oxford
House was the only recovery housing program singled out as an effective tool
for recovery in the 2016 Surgeon General’s report. While the 1988 Anti-Drug
Abuse Act [PL 100-690] represented political acceptance of Oxford House, the
recognition in the NREPP listing and Surgeon General’s report verified the
soundness of the Oxford House model as an evidence-based program that sig-
nificantly improves treatment outcomes for alcoholics, drug addicts and those with co-occurring mental illness.
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Litigation
Establishment and maintenance of an adequate network of recovery homes sometimes requires legal action
under the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect the civil rights of
residents. It has now been twenty-three years since the U. S. Supreme Court found in favor of Oxford
House™ in the landmark case, City of Edmonds, WA v. Oxford House, Inc. 514 US 1776 [1995].
Nevertheless, local jurisdictions and insurance companies continue to test the limits of the law. In 2017,
OHI was actively engaged in numerous cases to protect the legal right of recovering individuals to live
together as a family in order to increase their opportunity for long-­‐term recovery. Fortunately, OHI’s
attorneys’ fees and court costs were minimal.
Since expansion of Oxford House began in 1989, OHI has defended the rights of recovering individuals to live
in good neighborhoods just like ordinary families. Such individuals are protected from discrimination under
the 1988 Amendments to the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. OHI has been
a leader in defining the extent and scope of those rights by vigorously defending civil rights. It will continue
to do so because it is important not to let the hard-fought rights obtained in the past be eroded by indifference
to discrimination.
FY 2018 Focus
In FY 2018, OHI will continue to expand the network of
Oxford Houses to provide more opportunities for individ-
uals seeking long-term recovery without relapse to achieve
it with Oxford House living. We will also emphasize the
fact that Oxford House provides a good model for how lim-
ited government incentives can produce profound results.
Because long-term recovery without relapse is a hallmark
of Oxford House living, more Oxford Houses will make it
possible to slow down the cycling of individuals in and out
of primary treatment or incarceration.
Oxford House will continue to foster the belief that relapse
should not be the expected outcome following treatment.
We do so by encouraging further research about recovery
and continuing to expand the network of Oxford Houses.
This path is needed because only about 1.7 million [7%] of
those needing primary treatment get it and, of those who
get treatment, many are repeat consumers. SAMHSA’s
Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) shows that 60% of
those in treatment have had 3 or more prior treatment epi-
sodes and 15% have had five or more. Making recovery
without relapse the norm can have a huge positive result.
More Oxford Houses can help make that outcome a reality.
The 2018 Oxford House World Convention will be held in
Kansas City, Missouri from October 4-7. This annual gath-
ering grows each year and provides an opportunity for hun-
dreds of Oxford House residents and alumni to join to-
gether in workshops, general sessions and social events.
All participants of the convention are able to renew their
individual dedication to long-term recovery.
7
Oxford House™: Unique, Time-tested and Evidence-based
– The 2017 Oxford House Convention Theme –
The 2017 Oxford House convention theme summed up the key characteristics of the Oxford
House™ program. These characteristics contribute to the continued success of Oxford House.
Unique. Built into the Oxford House culture is a belief that recovery without relapse should be
the normal outcome of addiction treatment – not the exception. Behind that belief is the realization
that behavior change takes time, peer support and a safe place to live. How Oxford House fulfills
that expectation is what makes Oxford House unique.
In 1987, when Oxford House was celebrating its 12th anniversary, Dr. Bill Spillane released a study
he had done involving 1,280 recovering individuals who had lived in the 13 original Oxford
Houses. He reported that 80% of those individuals had self-reported that they had stayed clean
and sober from the time they had moved into an Oxford House. That finding was the first
verification that somehow the Oxford House concept and system of operation was producing
results that were substantially better than traditional ways of dealing with alcoholism, drug
addiction and co-occurring mental illness.
The American tradition of individual freedom underlies the faith, respect and responsibility that
the Oxford House concept puts on the recovering individuals who run and financially support the
individual Oxford Houses. That self-run, self-supported principle of Oxford House is what makes
it work and makes widespread development of networks of Oxford House economically feasible.
Last year alone, Oxford House, Inc. [OHI] – the 501[c][3] umbrella organization of all Oxford
Houses – operated on a budget of about $7.2 million dollars while the men and women living in
the national network of Oxford Houses paid landlords, utilities and other household expenses about
$116 million. The OHI budget includes outreach support to start Oxford Houses but residents
themselves cover all the expenses of their House. The self-support principle of Oxford House™
coupled with the fact that it owns no real property and relies solely on the rental of ordinary single-
family houses is the primary reason that the supply of beds can be expanded to meet the demand.
From the beginning, Oxford House™ has emphasized the importance of self-determination
consistent with responsibility. Each Oxford House obtains a charter that spells out three general
conditions each Oxford House must follow to achieve the maintenance of an alcohol and drug-free
living environment; namely, each House must be democratically self-run and financially self-
supported – and the residents must immediately expel any resident who relapses.
Participatory democracy is key to individual freedom, including recovery from the dependence on
alcohol or illicit drugs, and it is egalitarian. The Oxford House population is diverse and it features
egalitarianism as a core principle – each individual has an equal vote, officers are term-limited and
household expenses are divided equally among all residents. This participatory democracy
minimizes a “we versus them” attitude that can detract from a focus on recovery but is common in
recovery settings that have house managers or other staff in charge.
Time-tested. In 1975, when Oxford House™ began, there was considerable doubt about whether
the Oxford House™ concept and system of operation would work. Few believed that the “inmates
could run the asylum.” Time has shown the Oxford House™ concept and system of operation has
worked well. Over the last 43 years, about 400,000 individuals have lived in an Oxford House and
most have stayed clean and sober.
8