Recovering the Oxford House

New funding for Oxford Houses in Illinois. Researcher Leonard Jason is the leading researcher of this kind of sober housing:

The two studies released by the group in 2006 showed drug abstinence rates
of 65 to 87 percent among recovering addicts who lived communally in the
self-supporting Oxford House system. The results bucked prior notions that a
majority of recovering substance users relapsed after treatment.

Jason’s reasoning is simple. "If you have someone who is dealing with
substances and drugs and then they get released back to the same family and
neighborhoods that might have high levels of substance abuse and you don’t
provide them any types of support, the likelihood is that many of those people
will relapse," he said. "If you provide housing, opportunities for employment,
peer support—you can reduce that rate by half."

Ferrari, a Vincent DePaul Distinguished Professor, credited the Oxford
House system’s success to the reality that "a sense of home is very important
for people" and that the method respects the "individuality and dignity" of each
person who lives in an Oxford House.

The article also offers this mouthful:

"Oxford Houses are controversial because they are showing that people can take
care of themselves. [Oxford House residents] don’t need the medical community."

Couldn't the same be said for much of the professional resistance to 12 step programs?