For many former drug offenders such as stroke therapist Kasmawati Kali Ubi, the road to recovery may take a lifetime. The 55-year-old, who went to prison six times from 1981 for using heroin, said it was meeting counsellor Janet Wee four years ago that changed her life for the better.
Ms Kasmawati, who has two sons aged 18 and 31, and whose husband is also a former offender, said: “She helped me a lot, in my housing debt, finding a new job. Even my children respect ‘Auntie Janet’ a lot.”
Ms Wee, 43, is managing director of social enterprise Acorn Quest, which provides counselling and services like job referrals to people including former offenders. Of the firm’s name, she said: “We wanted to turn all the ‘acorns’ that we find into oak trees – which are tall, strong, resilient and valuable to society – because the wood can be made into many things.”
Although it charges a nominal fee so that clients have a sense of ownership in their recovery journey, Acorn Quest does not turn away those who cannot pay.
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