A Dublin hostel, earmarked as a “drug-free” facility by the HSE and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, has become overrun by drug dealing and heroin use, according to a resident.
The former heroin addict, who is now in recovery, said he fears “somebody is going to die” at the facility.
Independent TD Maureen O'Sullivan last week accused the Government, Dublin City Council and the HSE of a "serious breach of duty of care" in undermining drug-free homeless accommodation because of pressure to provide emergency accommodation.
One facility that had been providing accommodation to people in recovery was no longer drug-free because of the pressure before Christmas to take homeless people off the street, she told the Dáil.
Identified
The facility referenced by Ms O’Sullivan has now been identified as “St Peter’s Place”, a unit in the YMCA building off Aungier Street. The unit is run by homeless charity
Depaul Ireland
, and had been used as drug-free accommodation for recovering addicts.
A joint HSE and Dublin Regional Homeless Executive report on homeless people experiencing addiction, published last July, said the facility “should be retained as a drug-free service”.
One long-term resident of the facility, who has been drug-free for 20 months, said the Government’s “panic reaction” to provide beds for all rough sleepers by Christmas has had disastrous consequences. “Unfortunately over the Christmas period many people in this house have relapsed,” he said. “Anybody with any sort of education knows that Christmas alone presents a high rate of relapse; add the changeover [to emergency accommodation] into the mix and it was a recipe for disaster.”
Response
The man, who is in his mid-30s and wished to remain anonymous, said he had written to Depaul Ireland but had not received a response.
“I was a heroin addict for a long time, and I spent 15 years of my life on methadone maintenance. I became drug-free in a treatment centre 20 months ago, and I have remained consistently drug and alcohol free in the past 20 months.
“The last month of my recovery has been the most difficult and challenging.
“My great fear for my fellow addicts in this house is that someone will lose their life through relapse.”
Independent city councillor Cieran Perry, who has been campaigning for the facility to be kept drug-free, said the deterioration of conditions had been predictable.
“Within seven days the majority of drug-free residents had relapsed, there were two suicide attempts, one serious overdose, self-harm and violence.”
In a joint statement the Homeless Executive and Depaul said just six of the original 35 residents remained in the facility and “other individuals” who had moved in “were assessed by the central placement service as being alcohol and drug-free at the time of admission”.
