I am writing to ask you to reconsider legislation that would require staff members to be placed in Oxford Houses in Virginia.

Oxford House is fundamentally different from a traditional staffed treatment facility. We are democratically run, self-supporting recovery homes. The house is not simply controlled by one person or a staff member. Every member has a voice, and residents are given responsibilities that help create accountability, ownership, and pride in maintaining a healthy recovery environment.

Oxford Houses have established positions and responsibilities within each house, and those responsibilities are an important part of the recovery process. Members participate in running the house, making decisions, maintaining the home, managing finances, and holding one another accountable. This structure gives people an opportunity to practice responsibility and leadership while living in a safe, supportive recovery environment.

For me personally, Oxford House has been a critical part of my recovery. I have been clean for three years, and I honestly do not believe I would have been able to accomplish that without Oxford House. It has given me a safe place to live, people who understand what recovery requires, and the responsibility and accountability that have helped me remain clean.

Oxford House is an evidence-based model of recovery housing. Adding staff to every house would fundamentally change the model that has helped so many people. I am concerned that requiring staff could undermine the peer-run structure that makes Oxford House effective and could ultimately threaten the existence of Oxford Houses throughout Virginia and potentially the country.

People in recovery deserve opportunities to rebuild their lives, take responsibility, and become productive members of their communities. Oxford House gives us that opportunity. It does not treat us as people who need someone else to run our lives; it gives us the responsibility to run our own homes and support each other in recovery.

I respectfully ask you to consider the real-world consequences this legislation could have on people like me who depend on Oxford House for stable recovery housing. Please protect the peer-run, democratically governed structure of Oxford House and allow it to continue providing the recovery support that has helped so many of us stay clean and rebuild our lives.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the perspective of someone whose life has been changed by Oxford House.

Sincerely,

Jordan Coleman

Chapter 6 Housing Servive Committee Chair