Sustainable empowerment of 105 people recovering from addiction… and providing innovative employment paths

The “Irada” Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation in Dubai recently revealed that 232 patients have enrolled in the treatment and rehabilitation program during the year 2025, confirming that 105 of them, 45%, will graduate in two batches, which reflects the center’s success in supporting people of willpower, enabling them to overcome their challenges and achieve positive integration into society, in addition to providing innovative paths for employment and reducing the societal stigma associated with addiction.

The center confirmed to Emirates Today that during the Year of Society 2025, it achieved qualitative achievements, to provide integrated therapeutic and rehabilitative services that focused on empowerment and sustainability for patients recovering from addiction and their effective integration into society, through qualitative initiatives, most notably “shelter services for special cases” that could not be integrated with their families in the early stages of treatment, “tattoo removal,” and “consulting rooms,” which allow individuals the opportunity to obtain psychological and social support in a safe environment within the centers. Commercial.

The Executive Director of the Irada Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation in Dubai, Abdul Razzaq Amiri, stated that the achievements achieved during the year 2025 embody the center’s commitment to its national and humanitarian role in supporting people of will and enhancing their quality of life through integrated treatment and rehabilitation programs based on empowerment and sustainability, and aiming to effectively integrate them into society.

He added that the center worked during the year to develop its specialized services and expand the scope of strategic partnerships, which contributed to providing comprehensive care that meets the needs of people of will and enhances their independence and ability to participate positively in various aspects of life.

He explained that the next stage will witness further expansion of community initiatives and innovative qualitative programs, investment in national competencies, and adoption of best international practices, in line with the aspirations of the wise leadership, and strengthening the center’s position as a leading model in providing sustainable therapeutic and rehabilitative services that contribute to building a more cohesive and comprehensive society.

For his part, Director of the Awareness and Social Support Department, Dr. Abdullah Al Ansari, said that the recovery experience at the center is exceptional, because it is not limited to providing the best therapeutic services, but rather includes an integrated social support system that meets the patient’s needs in various aspects of his life, and serves the goals of the center.

He added that the center provided many services during the year 2025, including free legal services, including consultations and pleading before judicial bodies, as 56 legal services were provided during 2025, which contributed to some patients obtaining acquittal rulings or reduced sentences. The center also provided social support for those committed to the treatment plan, by providing 100 support cards to purchase basic needs and 100 petrol cards to facilitate access to the center, in addition to covering the costs of education for the recovered and their children in five cases, and covering the cost of treatment. For non-citizens in 24 cases, all in the year 2025 only.

He pointed out the center’s interest in launching initiatives on religious and national occasions, which came in the form of distributing integrated lunch baskets during the holy month of Ramadan, from which 36 families benefited. The center launched the “Eid Gift” initiative, which consists of providing men’s supplies for 113 cases, and supporting 85 families within the “My Family Deserves” initiative coinciding with the 54th anniversary of the Federation of the UAE, with the support of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charitable Foundation.

He added that the center, for the first time, launched the “Umrah for People of Will” initiative, which is an Umrah trip for the recovered, under the full supervision of the center’s employees and by selecting the best young people committed to the treatment plan, where four of the patients performed Umrah rituals, in a qualitative step that reflects the center’s interest in the religious aspect of the recovered and encouraging them to reintegrate positively into society.

As part of supporting those in recovery to reintegrate them into society, the center launched a training and rehabilitation program for people of willpower, where participants committed to the treatment plan undergo training for a period of six months with government or private agencies, while ensuring medical follow-up and random examination to ensure that they do not relapse. In 2025, the program resulted in the training of nine recoveries, two of whom obtained permanent job opportunities after the end of the training, which reflects the center’s success in providing innovative paths for employment and reducing the societal stigma associated with addiction.

He explained that the center launched other specific projects, such as tattoo removal in cooperation with Dubai Health, mobile dental clinic services with the University of Sharjah, and provided shelter services for special cases that were unable to be integrated with their families in the early stages of treatment. In addition to these specific services provided by the center, there is great cooperation with ministries and agencies concerned with community development and charities to expand the scope of social support, which reflects the center’s keenness to provide comprehensive care to people of will in a sustainable manner.

For her part, Head of the Community Awareness and Prevention Department at the Erada Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation in Dubai, Latifa Muhammad, explained that the center is keen on raising awareness as a first line of defense for preventing addiction, noting that efforts in 2025 focused on raising community awareness, emphasizing that addiction is a disease, and introducing the center’s services.

She added that in the year 2025, 11 awareness campaigns were organized in commercial centers in the emirate, aiming to educate the largest possible number of different segments of society, and 168 lectures and workshops were held, targeting government and private agencies, private schools, universities, and penal institutions, with the aim of increasing awareness and encouraging a culture of recovery. The programs included specific initiatives such as “The Running Race for People of Will” and “The Irada Cycling Race 2025,” with a focus on educating families and guiding them to obtain Consultations from specialists, informing them of how to properly deal with addiction patients to support recovery and reduce societal stigma.

She explained that the center provided consultation rooms that respect privacy in commercial centers and provide the opportunity for individuals to obtain psychological and social support in a safe environment, in addition to training specialists in public and private schools, as part of the “Addiction is a disease… and we are with you” initiative.

• “Irada” launched specific initiatives to integrate those recovering, most notably “Housing for Special Cases,” “Tattoo Removal,” and “Consulting Rooms.”

Dr. Abdullah Al Ansari:

• The “Center” provided 56 legal services during 2025, which contributed to some addiction patients obtaining acquittals or reducing sentences.