TEHRAN — Iran’s Welfare Organization is providing ex-addicts with loans to start a business, head of the addiction prevention and treatment center of the organization has announced.

“Ex-addicts can apply for loans to launch a business provided that they have quitted addiction for six months or more,” Fatemeh Abbasi told ISNA news agency on Wednesday. 

Each cured addict can receive a loan of 200 million rials (nearly $4,000), Abbasi added. 

She further explained that business owners who agree to employ up to five ex-addicts can also receive loans of $4,000 as well.

According to the latest World Drug Report, released by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in June 2017 in 2015 about a quarter of a billion people used drugs. Of these, around 29.5 million people - or 0.6 per cent of the global adult population - were engaged in problematic use and suffered from drug use disorders, including dependence. Opioids were the most harmful drug type and accounted for 70 per cent of the negative health impact associated with drug use disorders worldwide.

Addicts in recovery as well as former addicts may face many challenges. The challenges range from admitting the problem to pursuing treatment to mending relationships. Each stage of addiction recovery and rehabilitation comes with its own set of hurdles to overcome. It takes a strong desire to get clean and stay clean in order to achieve sobriety while handling the variety of other issues that come along with the decision to live a life free of drugs and alcohol.

According to the Tree House Rehab website in addition to the more obvious challenges facing a former addict in the recovery process, one must also continue to fulfill obligations in daily life. The least of these is securing gainful employment that pays the bills, puts food on the table, and provides purpose, allowing an ex-addict to move ahead in sobriety as a contributing member of society.

Unfortunately, for a former addict it’s not always as simple as updating a resume and putting in an application or two. Those who have struggled with substance abuse or addiction face barriers to employment that extend beyond the state of the job market, which level of education they’ve achieved, or how qualified they are relative to the rest of the applicants.

Furthermore, there is a stigma associated with a history of substance abuse, especially in the event there are accompanying criminal charges. Applicants with a history of drug-related offenses are less likely to be offered interviews and, as a result, less likely to be hired. 

Especially in small towns or rural areas where everyone knows each other, this stigma can be a big hindrance to gaining employment altogether. Even when this is not the case, those in addiction recovery are often only considered for jobs where background checks are not standard practice, and unfortunately many of them happen to be in environments that are less than ideal for maintaining their sobriety.

Such incentives provided with national organizations, however small, can be a start and act as a motivation for those who have willingly decided to change their lives and live it in a better way. 

MQ/MG