My son Andrew lives in an Oxford House in Sterling Virginia.  He has been in this house for approximately two years.  The peer support has been vital in his recovery and his personal growth has been exponential.  If there had been staff or if it was a commercial business, he likely would not have been able to afford to live there.  He has had to learn for himself how to co-exist with others where the only thing they have in common is a desire to be sober. He has taken on leadership roles and now acts as the house president.  The residents agree on house rules and if they are not followed, the "house" will vote and ask the individual to leave.  The Sterling Oxford House has provided our son the support he needs to maintain his sobriety.  He is able keep a job and and be a student at NVCC. (things he was unable to maintain previously) Please change the rules so that Oxford Houses can continue to operate in Virginia as self-governing and self-supporting, and that the members be considered the 'operator'.  Commercializing Oxford Houses would not improve how they work. Oxford House is widely recognized as the Gold Standard of Evidence-Based recovery housing.  It is the only recovery housing model ever accepted to SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence based Programs and practices.  Please don't implement rules that exclude such a successful model.