THE Novas Initiatives homeless services has revealed that almost three quarters of the homeless people in temporary accommodation at its McGarry House Limerick city base had overdosed on drugs — and most of them within the last year.
The research, undertaken by Quality Matters and the Graduate Entry Medical School at the University of Limerick, also reveals that 93 per cent of homeless in the Alphonsus Street shelter had witnessed an overdose, again, most within the last 12 months.
The first study of its kind in Ireland, confirms that benzodiazepines and heroin were the drugs most frequently used by those interviewed, with one-fifth injecting daily.
One of the most startling findings in the study, is that there were a number of pregnant intravenous drug-using women at McGarry House, who needed intensive care and support.
The report’s recommendations make specific reference to supporting high-risk pregnant drug using women including the introduction of a drug liaison midwife service in the region, which has been successful in Dublin, the South East and other areas in supporting pregnant drug using women.
“These deaths are preventable. This research helps us understand our residents’ experiences, and how our residents and staff can prevent overdose, and can best respond to it when it happens to stop it becoming fatal,” said Ms Cronin.
“We needed to find out why such levels of overdose were happening among our clients and the best possible ways we could respond. We felt an independent review was the most effective way to do this,” she explained.
A multi-agency response to the issue is one of the key recommendations in the report, which praised existing links between McGarry House and the Emergency services, the HSE and the Gardaí. The report also recommended first aid and overdose response training for homeless people and other people who are at higher risk of overdose.
A link between poor mental health and overdose was clearly identified, with more than 50 per cent of the participants indicating that they had been in a particularly bad place immediately prior to their last overdose.
