Northern Ireland

Homeless charity says 32 lives in Northern Ireland saved over past two years through drug programme

A homeless charity, Depaul, has revealed it has saved 32 lives in Northern Ireland
A homeless charity, Depaul, has revealed it has saved 32 lives in Northern Ireland A homeless charity, Depaul, has revealed it has saved 32 lives in Northern Ireland

A HOMELESS charity has revealed it helped save 32 lives in Northern Ireland and dealt with over 110 cases of suspected overdose over the past two years.

Depaul said the lives were saved through intervention and the administration of Naloxone, a life-saving antidote which reverses the effects of an overdose when administered.

The charity said a total of 115 lives across the island of Ireland had been saved and 250 cases of suspected overdose dealt with within their services.

It revealed the figures to raise awareness on drug addiction to mark International Overdose Awareness Day today. It said it wanted to highlight the ongoing problems faced by drug addiction within the homeless sector and beyond.

Depaul have trained over 270 staff in the Naloxone programme, which enables them to spot the signs of a suspected overdose and intervene where necessary.

The charity also seeks to educate service users in the use of this antidote and the dangers posed by drug overdose.

Deirdre Canavan, interim director of services for Northern Ireland, said "it is clear for the number of lives saved that drug use and addiction is still a growing issue in Northern Ireland".

"Working within the homeless sector sadly we are all too aware of this," he said.

"Drug addiction affects not only individuals but families, friends, communities and the people on the front line dealing with these issues.

"In recent years we have witnessed a huge rise in poly-substance addictions where the people we work with are addicted to two or more types of drug.

"This is an alarming trend as it can be extremely difficult to treat a person who presents with multiple addictions.

"Our Naloxone programme is a measured, life-saving intervention but we can’t continue to help people in this way alone.

"The reality is we need to be providing more health interventions and giving people the platform to change their drug consumption.

"This means providing more recovery orientated services and safe injection facilities, which we believe will ultimately encourage people to engage with services get the support they require.

"There has also been a marked shift in the age demographic of those accessing our services with a younger demographic presenting.

"The types of drugs we are seeing in circulation are drugs such as Lyrica, Xanax, Spice, diazepam and heroin."