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Arriola encourages employers to give former addicts a 2nd chance
Former lawyer Joey Arriola, who is now a drug use prevention advocate, encourages employers to consider giving former drug users a second chance by hiring them.
During the weekly Rotary Club of Saipan meeting last Tuesday, Arriola shared his story with club members and assured them that former addicts are good people who made bad decisions and have since faced the consequences.
Arriola, himself a former drug user, founded the Joey and Friends of Recovery group that works to encourage drug addicts to seek treatment and to encourage young adults to steer clear of drugs.
According to Arriola, former drug users deserve second chances because if not given the chance to better themselves, the possibility of relapsing is pretty great.
Arriola shared that he knows what it is like to seek employment as a former addict and for employers to turn their backs on him because of his past. It never matters how long he had been sober, nor did it matter that he is well educated. All that mattered was that he was convicted of drugs when it came to seeking for a job.
According to Arriola, it took a lot of time and, although the journey to employment was difficult, he was given an opportunity that he will always be grateful for and he wants fellow recovering addicts who have undergone treatment and have been sober to be given the chance that he was given.
Arriola, pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
In October 2010 Arriola began serving his 58-month prison term. He was required to pay $625,775 in restitution.
