Social integration strategies are urgently needed to allow former drug users to access the labour market, according to a new report from the Merchant's Quay project in Dublin.
A report on the first full year of an EU funded INTEGRA programme, which helps long term drug users get jobs, finds that while services to help drug users conquer their addiction are essential, little attention is paid to what happens once they have become drug free.
The INTEGRA Programme was established in January 1998 as a pilot project, which will end at the end of this year, to target former drug users and employers. It is run by the Merchants Quay project runs in partnership with the Probation and Welfare Services and the Eastern Health Board.