A HARD PATH TO NEW LIVES FOR EX-CONS |更生背景重新開始 謀職路上常受挫折

For many ex-convicts, finding a job and keeping it can be difficult, but things are especially tough for former drug users, seeing that addiction sometimes pays surprise visits and throws people back into the vicious cycle of substance abuse. We met Ming at a local employment services office. Unemployed and broke, his sole livelihood is selling roach killers at traditional markets, which earns him less than NT$200 per day. ==MING (pseudonym) ex-convict== I don't understand why society rejects people like us who have done wrong. Ming got out of prison 4 years ago after spending time behind bars for using drugs. So far he has found turning over a new leaf almost impossible. More than one employer has fired him upon discovering his background. ==MING (pseudonym) ex-convict== I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I did well, but no matter how well you do, all you need is one mistake. That's what they will ever look at because you're an ex-con. The employment services office provides both training programs and job referrals, but according to statistics, the average rate for people with a history of drug addiction to locate a job is much lower than the overall rate among ex-convicts, which is at 60%. ==CHUANG MING-CHEN Employment Service Worker, Sanming District, Kaohsiung City== Former drug addicts are in general less stable than others because bouts of addiction sometimes return and some would begin using again. A case I worked on repeatedly relapsed and was in and out of prison for more than 7 times. For ex-offenders to return to society, the will to break with the past is key. For example, Cheng, who spent 20 years in prison for manslaughter, only found the determination to start over after his grandmother passed away. He was able to find a job and keep it after he got out, but he knows he is one of the lucky ones. ==CHENG (pseudonym) ex-convict== It's difficult because if you're still on parole, not a lot of employers would be okay with you taking two days off weekly to report to your parole officer. Many would simply hire someone else. To better help ex-offenders secure a job, the government has launched various programs, including subsidizing employers who hire them and paying salary bonuses to ex-convicts who work in onerous, dirty or dangerous conditions, as well as those who work in industries experiencing labor shortage. ==CHEN HSI-WEI Director, Kaohsiung Employment Training Center== As long as we help them stay in a job for more than six months, they will increasingly demonstrate strong determination. When that happens, they can do just as well as the rest of us. Currently, 70% of criminal offenders in Taiwan have a history of drug abuse. For those who still has a drug addiction or other problems, the government says it will nevertheless provide assistance to help them re-integrate into society. TRANSLATED BY：JEFF CHANG 阿明出現在就業服務站。找不到正職工作、沒錢吃飯，他只得到傳統市場賣殺蟑藥，但1天不到2百塊的收入，讓他經濟陷入困頓。 ==更生人 阿明(化名)== 為什麼這個社會要排斥 排斥我們這些 有前科的人 阿明染毒入監服刑，4年前出獄，想自己重新開始，但找工作四處碰壁，常常一穩定工作後，被雇主發現更生背景而遭開除。 ==更生人 阿明(化名)== 我沒有怎麼樣 我做得很好 但是 你只要有一點點 10個好 1點壞 人家不會把好的記著 他會記住你那個壞的 因為你是更生人 就服站提供職訓資料，也轉介阿明到缺工的廠商工作。但像阿明這種的藥癮個案，媒合成功率較低。高雄勞工局統計，去年更生人媒合職業成功比例有6成，但藥癮個案成功率比這數字低很多，因為不少藥癮者辛苦工作，領到錢就買毒，也因為吸毒失去工作甚至入獄，陷入惡性循環。 ==高市三民就服站個案管理員 莊明珍== 毒癮犯來講 他的穩定性 是最沒有那麼好 他的癮 就是他那個毒癮 會讓他沒有辦法就是控制 又再回去(吸食) 所以我這邊有曾經輔導過 就是反覆入監已經7次以上的 更生人想成功重回社會，除了家人的支持還得自己轉念，像是這位更生人阿成，因打死人，入監20年。期間最疼愛他的奶奶過世，讓他轉念要重新開始，出獄後順利媒合到工作，也相當穩定。不過他也發現，即便表現良好獲得假釋的受刑人，找工作也困難。 ==更生人 阿成(化名)== （假釋時)你要找正式的工作 沒有辦法呀 你就像是老闆說的 說你才剛來工作而已 你就1個星期 要跟我請2天的假 這樣人家就會說 乾脆不要僱用你了 增加更生人就業機會，政府也推出許多方案，像是雇主聘用更生人可獲補助，另外，辛苦、污穢、危險、或缺工的行業，更生人錄取，除了本薪外，也可獲得政府補助。 ==高市勞工局職訓中心主任 陳石圍== 只要我們讓他(更生人) 可以穩定6個月 那基本上他的毅力 越來越堅強的話 其實在職場上 他的表現是不輸我們一般人的 雖然求職機會不少，但全國受刑人，7成都有用藥問題。更生後，若不脫離毒品生活，外界很難給予援助。但職訓中心表示，只要更生人，願意求職，過程中不管是藥癮或其他因素，多次失業，只要上門，職訓中心還是會繼續協助。 記者 王柔婷 陳顯坤 高雄報導