John Shearer
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A new documentary, “Welcome Home: An Oxford House Story,” highlights a unique recovery program for substance abuse. The film will be shown June 2 at the Regal Riviera.Oxford Houses are democratically run, self-supporting homes where residents aid each other’s recovery.The program, which started in 1975, offers an affordable housing solution for those in recovery.
People’s lives can often be like movies that are happy, sad or both, due often to the personal choices they make.
As a twist on that, a documentary film set for a Knoxville screening June 2 is described as uplifting about the somber issue of substance abuse addiction.
Titled “Welcome Home: An Oxford House Story,” the documentary looks at the story of Oxford House recovery programs around the country – including in Knoxville – where residents of each house try to support each other’s recovery in a uniquely democratic way.
Area Oxford House outreach coordinator Sarah Harris said the program has worked for her. “I tried halfway houses and I continued to relapse,” she said in a recent Zoom interview. “(Oxford House) worked for me because it provided tools to support me. And you share accountability and learn how to be a leader.”
Fellow staff member Rachel Katelle, who is also involved in outreach and education and has also been helped through the Oxford House program, said it is also an aid for those in recovery still struggling to get back on their own feet financially.
“I stayed in different Oxford Houses before getting our own place,” she said. “Oxford House is a great solution for individuals in recovery who might be struggling to pay the bills.”
The film, produced by North Forty, is being shown in part in connection with the recently observed 50th anniversary of the program. It began in 1975 in Maryland, when founder Paul Molloy and several others realized their halfway house treatment recovery program was being discontinued over funding issues.
Realizing they still needed a supportive network, several of them were able to rent the home and began working independently to develop a democratic and self-supporting environment. The organization now operates as a nonprofit.
While all houses are tied together, each house operates democratically, is financially self-supportive, and immediate expulsion comes with substance abuse reoccurrence, officials said.
“We share responsibility for making sure it runs safe,” said Harris. “It is a group of people working together as a team.”
Nearly 35 Oxford Houses exist in the Knoxville area, officials said, and the organization works through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Their homes are considered single-family residences under the Fair Housing Act regulations, and they are not required to put a sign in the front saying it is an Oxford House, they said.
Both Harris and Katelle are young adult women who said their generation came along before the full dangers of addiction related to opioid drugs were realized. As a result, many found such drugs an easy way to numb or escape from whatever emotional pain they had.
But both said they were greatly aided by the Oxford House program, with Katelle adding that she never wants to go down that path of addiction again. They added that the program welcomes a variety of methods to aid recovery, from faith-based styles to those that focus more on psychology.
They said all local residents are welcome to attend the film showing, which will begin with community networking at the theater beginning at 1. It will end with a question-and-answer session about 3 p.m. after the conclusion of the documentary.
“We would love to see our neighbors out there and people who don’t already know us,” said Harris.
Added Katelle, “We are a safe solution for individuals in recovery.”
The film will be shown at 2 p.m. on June 2 at the Regal Riviera cinema at 510 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville. Those wanting more information can go to oxfordhouse.org.