Two state agencies are joining forces to establish a therapeutic house for individuals -- including recently paroled inmates -- who have a substance-abuse problem.
The Board of Corrections gave the go-ahead Monday for the Arkansas Community Correction department to work with the Division of Behavioral Health Services to fund the startup costs for one house, the salary and benefits for a program coordinator, and the costs and maintenance for a vehicle.
The endeavor would cost the Community Correction department about $40,000 per year.
Both agencies would work with the Oxford House Inc., a nonprofit based in Silver Spring, Md., to establish a single-family house that could hold from six to eight residents.
An Oxford House utilizes a self-governing model that teaches accountability to its residents by requiring them to pay rent, help with household chores and attend house meetings. The residents elect officers who are responsible for organizing house meetings, paying bills and general oversight.
The house will be self-supporting, but the program coordinator -- who will be hired by the Community Correction department -- will manage the general operation of the home as well as working to establish additional Oxford Houses across the state.
"When you first look at it, it looks like the craziest thing around, but it has been highly successful around the nation," said Kevin Murphy, chief deputy director of the Community Correction department.
Arkansas currently has three Oxford Houses, which are operated by the national organization and do not involve the state's correction system. The three homes -- in Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Rogers -- house a total of 23 male residents, according to the organization's website.
Board member Bobby Glover asked Murphy if there would be a public hearing in the community where the house will be located -- which has yet to be determined.
"We would want a public hearing," Murphy said, adding that community support was necessary for the success of the venture.
Board member Mary Parker-Reed said it was important for the residents' recovery that they be integrated into the community in which they live, but said that communities are not always welcoming to the concept.
"There was a movement in Midtowne [Little Rock] to start one, but there was quite a bit of opposition," Parker-Reed said.
About three years ago, two Oxford Homes in Little Rock -- which are no longer listed on the nonprofit organization's website -- garnered public protests and required a city board vote before being granted a special-use permit.
Parker-Reed said that the difference between the existing Oxford Homes and the one proposed by the two state agencies is that a program coordinator will be hired to oversee the program.
"I'd like to see them all over the state," Parker-Reed said.
Glover said he does not have a problem with the Oxford House concept.
"I just don't want to force them on a community," he said.
"We will not be part of an attempt to force the houses on a neighborhood," Parker-Reed responded.
Murphy said the key to community acceptance is education and would include the public as the project moves forward.
Metro on 11/24/2015