Neighbors question recovery center board on ‘Oxford House’

A planned Oxford house recovery home in Moscow drew questions from around a dozen residents of the surrounding neighborhood who voiced concerns over their children’s safety and a lack of communication from the Latah Recovery Center Board of Directors about the plans for the property.

The house, located on Bitterroot Street near the Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center, would house roughly seven men in recovery. Several residents said they had not heard about the plans for the Oxford house until this week, and only through word of mouth.

“I want to own that. I haven’t exactly opened up a lot of recovery houses before, this is a first for me,” said Director Darrell Keim. “I do apologize for that. It’s not intentional on our part. We don’t intend to be quiet and noncommunicative with neighbors.”

Brooke Roth, one of the neighbors, asked if people convicted of violent crimes would be allowed to live at the Oxford house. David Bolles, another resident, said he was concerned for the safety of his two teenage daughters.

Oxford houses, a type of sober group living, are maintained entirely by the people living there. Approval to live in an Oxford house, in addition to sobriety and financial contribution, is based on existing residents voting new members in with at least 80% approval, said Stacie Hatfield, the Washington and Idaho senior outreach coordinator for Oxford House. The two main convictions that routinely get applicants denied approval in an Oxford house are arson, and any sex offenses, she said.

In the case of the Moscow Oxford house, any people with convictions limiting their proximity to schools would also automatically be ineligible.

Amin Ahmadzadeh, another resident, said although the majority of the residents will stay sober, the 13% relapse rate that was documented in a national survey over two years is still enough to be a concern.

“When it comes to human behavior, with all due respect for all the people who recovered, which I admire — I’ve had hardships in my own life — sometimes those statistics in human behavior don’t mean that much. All it takes is one.”

Kelsi Banta, a probation parole officer of six years, said when addicts do relapse, they tend to avoid environments where they’re under scrutiny like an Oxford house or the neighborhood it’s in.

“They’re not going to go back to where the neighbors that are gonna be giving them that sideways look (are), because they’re high,” she said. “They’re going to dodge you. They dodge me pretty hard, but they’re really going to dodge you.”

Moscow Police Capt. Anthony Dahlinger, a board member for the recovery center, said his children walk past the location for the Oxford house, and he voted in favor of it.

“For as suspicious and untrusting as law enforcement typically are,” he said, “do you honestly think that I would put my own children at risk? I’d have to be a freaking idiot.”

Tony Kern, a former resident of a Lewiston Oxford house, was one of several people in recovery who spoke in favor of the project.

Kern was previously convicted on felony charges, and said he owes his life to Oxford House and the men there who helped him. Many of those men were fathers themselves, which is something he’s now experiencing as a stepparent.

“Those guys that helped me along the way, they now get to see their kids every day. They were working their asses off for nothing other than to be where you’re at,” he said. “That’s what the world means to us.”

Although the prospect of having a recovery house in one’s neighborhood can be scary, said board member Alisa Anderson, those addicts are already in the community.

“No one knew I was an alcoholic. Nobody, not even my own family. And I live next door to you,” she said. “You have no idea what’s happening in the houses in your neighborhoods. You really don’t. People who have addictions are sick. There are people surrounding all of your homes that have issues, whether they’re alcoholics or drug addicts, or they have a mental illness. They’re everywhere. And they need people like you to love them and support them.”

Following the presentation and numerous public testimonies, several neighbors said they’re supportive of the project and want to see it succeed, but were upset by the lack of communication and wanted to make sure they were informed moving forward.

“My aunt went through this and it saved her life,” said Jordyn Nafsinger, another resident of the neighborhood. “I really do support this for our community. I know that we need it. I just want you guys to know it’s just very, very scary as parents.”

Sun may be contacted at rsun@lmtribune.com or on Twitter at @Rachel_M_Sun. This report is made possible by the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.