Residents from Nyandarua and Laikipia Counties have been urged to accept reformed drug addicts to help them recover and be integrated in society.
Counsellors and Community Social workers from the region have said that the society needs to understand the crisis of alcohol and drugs and take the responsibility of caring for the victims.
They lamented that many recovering addicts always find themselves going back to their old habits due to stigma.
Dennis Wanjala from the Nyahururu’s St, Martin Catholic Social Apostolate said the community, national and county governments need to help the high numbers of reformed addicts who have no jobs and are fighting stigma.
He noted that there were so many reformed addicts who have not been accepted by the community in the right way and the few who have been accepted suffer discrimination because the community refers to them as criminals and a threat to them.
His sentiment were echoed by Mwangi Wakahora, a reformed alcoholic and former police officer who noted that they are working with the community and doing sensitization to curb the denial and rejection of the reformed addicts.
They spoke on the sidelines of a sensitization forum for communities and recovering addicts at Maili Saba area in Laikipia West Constituency where they urged the community and government to support them for full recovery by accepting and providing them with jobs.
