I lived in several Oxford Houses in the Lynchburg areas. Oxford Houses are democratically self-governing and self-supporting under the Oxford House system of operations. 

Oxford house literally gave me my life back , I am 6 years clean and have nothing my children in my life full time , I own a home now , and have had the same job for over 5 years , I have the trust of my family , and have made life long friends through Oxford house ! It was such a wonderful experience to learn myself and create a life , with the support of other women in recovery through the homes , to watch people grow and also make a beautiful life for themselves , by living and following the rules of Oxford house , it has taught me little things like how to maintain a home , and keep a safe living space for my children and I . 

I support rules that keep people safe, but rules that require staff or assume every home is a commercial business would keep Oxford Houses from operating in Virginia, even though research shows our model gets the best results. Please change those rules, and please clarify whether house members are considered the operator.