I live in Oxford House Lumina in North Chesterfield. Oxford Houses are democratically self-governing and self-supporting under the Oxford House system of operations.

I came into recovery after years of addiction had taken me to a place where I could barely tell what was real and what wasn't. I had experienced a near-fatal overdose and had been warned by someone I loved that if I continued down the road I was on, I was going to die. When I came into Oxford House, I wasn't just trying to stop using drugs, I was trying to figure out how to live a life I nearly lost. Living with other people in recovery gave me something I desperately needed: people around me understood the reality of addiction and recovery without judging me for where I had been. We support each other, hold each other accountable, and remind each other that we don't have to go back to the lives we were living before. Having a home where recovery is part of our everyday life has helped me stay sober and has shown me that I can build relationships based on honesty, accountability, and genuine support.

Running our house ourselves has taught me me how to take responsibility for my life instead of expecting someone else to manage it for me. Before recovery, responsibility was not something I handled well, and I had spent years reacting to whatever was happening around me. Oxford House has taught me how to handle money, paperwork, house responsibilities, and difficult conversations while understanding that my decisions affect the people I live with. I have learned how to work conflicts, listen to other people's perspectives, compromise, and hold myself and others accountable. I have also learned that self-government has a voice and everybody has a responsibility. The fact that people in recovery can come together, make decisions, manage their own finances and home, and hold one another accountable has helped me regain confidence in myself and find my voice again.

Oxford House has changed my life far beyond giving me a sober place to live. When I first came into Oxford House, I did not know what to expect or where this path was going to take me. Over time, I went from simply trying to stay sober and survive to becoming involved in service, leadership, and helping other people find the same opportunity I was given. Helping open Oxford House Lumina showed me that I could take what I had learned and use it to create a safe recovery environment for someone else. Oxford House has also helped me understand that recovery is about more than putting down drugs and alcohol, it's about learning who you are, taking responsibility for your life, rebuilding relationships, and discovering that you still have something to give. I have found a sense of purpose through serving others and sharing my experience, strength, and hope. The person who once needed to tell her she could make it is now in a position where I can use my own experience to encourage someone else that they can make it too.

I have found something inside Oxford House that I haven't found inside a program where there are house managers and house leaders. Oxford House runs on a model of self-government where "WE" as a house take care of house responsibilities and much more. Oxford House is the building block to helping you learn the basics to living on your own. Our model works and has been for the past 50 years.

This is what I ask of DBHDS "Preserve the Oxford House Model while Protecting its Residents", which includes:

    1. No requirement for paid or resident staff

    2. No forced conversion into a business

    3. Resident governance must remain resident governance

    4. Do not certify Oxford House in way that makes Oxford House impossible 

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 that our model gets the best results. Please change those rules, and please clarify whether house members are considered the operator.