I live in Oxford House - Rising Sun in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Oxford Houses are democratically self-governing and self-supporting under the Oxford House system of operations. Living in an Oxford House has provided the support I need for recovery from addiction while presenting opportunity to take responsibility for my life. The Oxford House model, which requires the members to run the house democratically without a paid manager or other paid staff, has required me to participate in decision making and executive responsibility (like serving in house officer positions) that make me an active participant in my recovery rather than a passive recipient of services.

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