Tony Duffin had a very graphic article in Wednesday’s Irish Times – ‘on average, one person a day in Ireland dies by overdose, roughly twice the number that die on the roads‘. Yet, for minimal funding, addiction recovery projects save lives and make an enormous difference to families.
I have also mentioned before that there is a serious shortage of beds in de-tox facilities for those who wish to start their recovery.
I visited two addiction recovery projects in the last week. Ait Linn in Ballymun under the direction of Mara de Lacy who with Fr. Frank Brady set up the Ana Liffey Project many years ago. I spent some time with an adult group in recovery from alcohol addiction, all of whom have turned their lives around. I asked them to tell me what they would say to the Minister based on their experiences and we had a really good discussion. For minimal funding, comparatively speaking, this project has saved lives and has made an enormous difference to them and their families.
The other project was Tiglin in Co. Wicklow – a residential centre for men and women and again I spent time there with the staff and those in recovery, some of whom were long time in addiction. Just looking at the figures – one young man who spent many years in either care or prison. It costs some €73,000 to keep one person in jail so the state spent over €400,000 on him for his time in jail, not to mention his time in care. 18 months in Tiglin cost a fraction of that! Now he is giving back, supporting others in recovery, in education and part-time employment.
We had a lengthy discussion on the methadone issue; sometimes the voices of those in recovery do not get the serious attention they should.
Today in my profile picture I am wearing the pin to signify that today is International Overdose Awareness Day to highlight the number of deaths through drug overdose. I received it from the Ana Liffey Project. I think we also need to remember those who died through addiction.
