Train and hire former addicts..

One of the difficulties faced by ex-addicts who have been discharge after undergoing treatment and rehabilitation is the reluctance of employers to employ them, and thereby absorb them into mainstream society. This results in some former drug addicts resorting to crime to survive. Employers should avoid the tendency of not considering an ex-addict for a job purely on his past history as an addict. They should impartially and without bias evaluate their potential to perform well as employees. At the same time, no quota should be set to compel employers to take in ex-addicts as employees without due regard to their capability and suitability for the job. When two candidates, one an ex-addict and the other a non-addict, are equally matched in merits and their suitability for the job, preference should be given to the ex-addict over the non-addict. No concession should otherwise be made to an applicant by virtue of his being an ex-addict over an applicant who is more eligible based on his merits for the job. In a competitive world, employees should perform well and be an asset rather than a liability to the organization they work for. Those ex-addicts who are unsuccessful in getting a job should be given relevant training and assistance in the form of micro-credit financing, loans, licenses, stall spaces to become self-employed in small business or farming.