Oxford House Trivia
Whenever there is any suspicion that a member is drinking or using drugs. What is the next action that should be taken?
An emergency house meeting
Traditional One States:
Oxford House has its primary goal and provision of housing and rehabilitative support for the alcoholic and drug addict who wants to stop drinking or using drugs and stay stopped.
Please share your experience, strength, and hope on where you were in life when you joined Oxford and where you are today?
There is no wrong answer please share your experience, strength, and hope
The men and women of Oxford House restructured Oxford House, Inc. by creating an independent Board of Directors and World Council elected from residents and alumni around the country. This enabled the national board to recruit experienced outside directors to compliment the residents and alumni making up the democratic self-run organization.
What year was the World Council created?
Bonus- There is a emeritus member serving on the world council today that was an original member of the first council. Oklahoma has a service award named after him who is this person?
World Council was established in 1997
James W. McClain currently serves on the World Council as the honorary emeritus member
Oklahoma gives the "James McClain Service Award"
In your own words as you understand him who was Paul Molloy?
In the early 1970s, J. Paul Molloy was a young lawyer on Capitol Hill who had a key role in drafting legislation that created Amtrak and other federal programs. He was also an alcoholic whose drinking would eventually cost him his job, his family and his home.
For a couple of months in 1975, he found himself living on the streets and begging strangers for money before he entered a rehabilitation program. He moved to a county-run halfway house in Silver Spring, MD, to recover but soon learned that the facility was about to close.
Instead of being left to their own fates, Mr. Molloy and other residents decided to take over the house themselves, paying the expenses and utilities, cooking the meals and keeping watch over one another’s path to recovery.
They called their experiment in group living and joint sobriety Oxford House. It was the first step in a nationwide movement, now almost 50 years old, that has been credited with helping thousands of people overcome addiction and lead productive lives.
Oxford House has a bundle of manuals that we use for our operations.
Can you name the 4 manuals that we have and use?
World Council Manual, House Manual, State Association Manual, Chapter Manual
When protecting the house finances. The best practice is too have which three positions as 3 different people?
-Treasurer
-Check Signer
-Safe Key Holder
Our officers are but trusted servants serving continuous periods of no longer than how many months?
6 months
What year did Oxford House set out for national expansion by hiring the first outreach workers to start opening houses in other states?
The first outreach workers were hired in 1989
Situation:
Frank arrived back to his Oxford House a little tipsy from the bar. He admitted to a house member he screwed up and had some drinks to cope with a breakup. During the emergency house meeting the motion to evict did not pass because some of the core members are his best friends and they explained to the house it was just a little slip and that he needed to sleep and they felt loosing his place to live would set him to far back.
What's going on here? What has this house violated and what are some outcomes for this houses future?
First making personality based decisions is in violation of tradition 8 principles should be placed before personalities. They are in violation of the charter which states that we must expel anyone who is found to be using drugs or alcohol which puts the entire house in jeopardy and may lead to an emergency chapter meeting.
Tradition 9 states members who leave an Oxford House in good standing are encouraged to become associate members and offer friendship, support, and example, to newer members.
What boxes does a member need to check in order to be voted in by an Alumni Association?
The member should have left their Oxford House better than when they found it.
Should be current on EES and in good standing with the Oxford House they moved out of.
Moreover, the associate member can often provide assistance in forming new Oxford Houses or in recruiting new members who want to live in an Oxford House. Above all the associate member serves as an example of one who lived in an Oxford House and "made it."
Which two officers empathizes the importance each Oxford House places on money management?
Treasurer & Comptroller
The number of officers may vary from house to house but all houses generally have the following elected officers. Name the 5?
-President
-Treasurer
-Secretary
-Comptroller
-Coordinator
What year did the first Oxford House open and what was it's name?
-1975
-Oxford House Silver Spring
What year did Oxford House have its first World Convention?
In 1999 Oxford House held its first annual World Convention. This brought members and alumni from all over the country together to enjoy fellowship and learn more about Oxford House.
In 2013, an Oxford House resident from NJ created oxfordvacancies.com. The website is a vacancy locator that keeps its information up to date in an automated fashion by sending text messages to all of the houses asking them how many openings they have.
In 2014, Oxford House's founder Paul Molloy reached out to the resident and asked them if they could work with the states to deploy the system nationwide. This system enables prospective members to find openings quickly and apply to houses.
Can you name 3 Oxford Houses that are not in the State your from?
Can NOT be Oxford Houses in Oklahoma
Leadership can verify houses using the Oxford Vacancy Site
What is in simplest form Oxford House Inc. ?
Oxford House Inc. serves as an umbrella, non-profit corporation for all the Oxford Houses that have or will be given a charter.
If an Oxford House has 10 members. One of them motions to evict Sally and the motion is seconded. 5 members vote no and 5 members vote yes. Is Sally evicted?
No Sally is not evicted. In a 50% tie vote the motion dies
In 1988 Congress enacts P.L. 100-690
Such loans of $4,000.00 pay the first month's rent and security deposit and thereby accelerate the rate at which the individual recovering people can find affordable housing.
What is this ACT called?
Anti-Drug Abuse Act
How many Oxford House traditions do we have?
Can you name 3 without looking at your House Manual?
We have 9 Oxford House traditions
Please give us an example of a Oxford House violating tradition 2?
Give example and discuss
In the Manual - What is (1) Suggestion of a Return to Sound Sobriety?
Completion of 28-day rehabilitation program / Strong Evidence of no drinking or taking drugs & attendance at AA and or NA meetings
What % of the vote should a applicant receive in order to be accepted into the house in which they have applied and are interviewing at?
80% of the vote in order to be accepted for membership to the house
In 1988 what University began researching Oxford House?
DePaul University
For more than twenty-five years, a DePaul University-based research team has been involved in studying Oxford Houses in order to better understand the role they play in substance abuse recovery. Descriptions of the DePaul past and current research are found below. The national scope of Oxford House and its long history makes it the only recovery house system that has been the subject of so much independent research.
No member of an Oxford House™ is ever asked to leave without cause – a dismissal vote by the membership because of drinking, drug use, or disruptive behavior.
Please give us examples of disruptive behavior that you have come across while being a member of your Oxford House
Discuss examples given
At Oxford House Epic Forest they have a situation with a house member named Bob. Several house members have noticed Bob having mental health issues talking to himself and seeing things that aren't there making they house members a little nervous.
What should they do and what tradition would best help them and bob?
Give examples of the conversations that need to happen.
Tradition 7
Within an Oxford House group, it is not unusual to find some members who have problems that cannot be dealt with by the group. In those situations, it is not uncommon for the Oxford House members, at a meeting, to strongly suggest that a fellow member seek professional help. In those situations where a member's behavior is disruptive to the group as a whole, the member may be required to seek such professional help or attend more self-help meetings in order to avoid being dismissed from Oxford House™.
Respectful and loving conversations need to happen between the house and Bob. We never want to call anyone "crazy" or be rude. We explain to them that the house may need them to seek some outside help so that they can continue living in the house and be healthy and stable.