Just two years ago, a 28-year-old man had lost nearly everything. Addiction had distanced him from his family, disrupted his work, and left him struggling with a sense of hopelessness. Today, he spends his mornings tending a vegetable garden, attends skill development classes in afternoon, and is preparing to start a livelihood of his own after completing rehabilitation.

“I had stopped believing that I could have a normal life again,” he said. “Here, I learned not only how to overcome addiction but also how to rebuild myself.”

Addiction had forced another man, 24, to drop out of his studies and strained relationships with his parents. Today, he is learning professional cooking skills at the centre’s culinary training facility and hopes to work in the hospitality sector after completing treatment.

Similarly, a 31-year-old man spent years battling substance abuse that left him unemployed and isolated. At the rehabilitation centre, he discovered a new interest in hairdressing and salon services. He now spends hours training under a professional instructor, with a dream of opening his own salon.

Their stories are different, but share a common thread, that they met at this centre feeling defeated by addiction, and each is rebuilding a future through recovery, skill development and renewed self-confidence.

Recognising this need, the Red Cross Society in Hoshiarpur district undertook an ambitious project, and in April last year Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria inaugurated an upgraded centre.

The centre was modernised at Rs 80 lakh through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions made by Kuantum Papers Limited, Hoshiarpur, and Viber Caustic

Private Limited, Mohali, and mobilised by the Red Cross.

The centre features fully air-conditioned wards with bunk-bed facilities, a dedicated yoga and meditation hall, a modern gymnasium, recreational and counselling rooms featuring games such as chess, table tennis and football, a music therapy room with instruments like harmonium, tabla and guitar, a video conferencing room enabling virtual counselling and family interactions, and a modern library with newspapers and motivational literature.

Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner-cum-president of the District Red Cross Society Aashika Jain led the initiative intending to create a dignified environment where recovering addicts can regain confidence, learn skills and prepare for independent lives.

“These facilities create a positive and reformative atmosphere that supports physical, mental and emotional healing,” said Mangesh Sood, Secretary, Red Cross Society Hoshiarpur.

Skill development at core

What distinguishes the Hoshiarpur centre from many traditional rehabilitation facilities is its emphasis on livelihood generation. “Every inmate participates in two-hour daily skill development sessions conducted by professional trainers engaged by the Red Cross. Training programmes are tailored according to individual interests and aptitudes,” said Aditya Rana, Joint Secretary, Red Cross Society Hoshiarpur.

Upon completion, trainees receive Red Cross skill certificates that can help enhance their employment prospects. Three dedicated skill centres have already been established.

The culinary training facility teaches professional cooking skills and food preparation techniques. A professional trainer from Lakme Salon has been engaged to provide training in hairdressing and salon services.

The most innovative initiative is, however, the farm-to-fork model, called “Mera Bagh Mera Mann”. Under the programme, inmates cultivate seasonal vegetables in designated garden plots, and the produce is used by the centre’s kitchen laboratory where participants receive culinary training. The Horticulture Department provides guidance on modern farming techniques, crop selection, sowing methods and fertiliser management.

The DC said, “To facilitate economic reintegration, the Red Cross is coordinating with multiple government agencies. The Employment Bureau is being approached for job placements, while the District Industries Centre is helping eligible beneficiaries access loans under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme. Support is also being explored through the National Urban Livelihood Mission and PM SVANIDHI for those starting small businesses or street-vending enterprises.”