I live in an Oxford House in Virginia Beach. Oxford Houses are democratically self-governing and self-supporting under the Oxford House system of operations. Before coming to Oxford, I lived in a house who had 2 staff members who were above those who were living in the house, personally it was not beneficial for my recovery. Oxford has given me a support network and accountability, we peers hold each other accountable- not one person who is being paid or is "above" the rest. This is what evidence based practice has shown time and time again works best in recovery which stands true for me personally. 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. As someone who works in homeless services, the last thing Virginia needs is more people without housing, especially those who are already more vulnerable