We Are Proud Of Who We Are And What We Do.
A Brief History: The first Oxford House opened in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1975. Between 1975 and 1988, 18 houses were established by and for recovering individuals. While the scope of Oxford House has expanded, our goal of providing self-help for recovery without relapse has remained consistent.
The Oxford House Model: Our principles are based on replication and guidelines for running single-family homes for recovering alcoholics and substance abusers. In its simplest form, an Oxford House is a democratically run, self-supporting, and drug-free home.
Oxford House, Inc. (OHI) is a publicly supported, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and is the umbrella organization providing the network connecting all Oxford Houses. OHI allocates resources to duplicate the Oxford House concept where needs arise.
From the beginning, we have chosen to rent – not purchase – single-family homes in good neighborhoods, convenient to transportation, job opportunities, and retail. Oxford Houses flourish in metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis and Washington D.C., as well as in smaller communities like Clarksville and Greendale, Indiana.
Oxford House Videos
CBS 60 Minutes
Featuring Oxford House
The Meredith Show
Meredith Vieira & Oxford House
Oxford House: The History, Structure & Success
Filmed in 2020, this video explains how Oxford House works and why we achieve success.
Our Residents: The individuals living in an Oxford House are men and women who want to be free from addiction forever. The number of individuals living in a house may range from 6 to 15. We have houses for men, women, men with children, and women with children.
The Chapter Structure: Three or more Oxford Houses within a 100 mile radius comprise an Oxford House Chapter. A representative of each house in the chapter meets monthly with other house representatives to exchange information, seek guidance and training for their house, and express their house's vote on larger issues.
The Oxford House World Council: The primary mission of the World Council is to facilitate adherence to the Oxford House Traditions and system of operations. The World Council also provides effective means of communication and mission focus among the various organizational structures.
Twelve members comprise the World Council; nine currently live in an Oxford House and three are alumni. Council members are elected each year at the Oxford House World Convention.
In carrying out its mission, the Council always maintains focus on expansion of the network of individual Oxford Houses, which provide recovering alcoholics and drug addicts the opportunity to develop sobriety without relapse.
The Board of Directors: The Board maintains sole rights to charter and to revoke the charter of individual Oxford Houses and exercises authority over the policies and officers of OHI. In this way, OHI remains responsive to the needs of the population it serves.
