The stark reality: People are homeless for longer with fewer options to help

The homelessness and addiction charity Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) has seen an increase in the number of people accessing its services increase for a 10th straight year, as the number of meals it provided increased by 54% in 2023.

According to the charity’s annual report, it provided over 66,000 meals last year as it dealt with 13,516 individuals in all.

Overall, it said it had 136,850 engagements with individuals which involved over 13,000 primary healthcare interventions and 25,900 interventions from its “harm reduction team”.

“The stark reality is that MQI have seen an increase in the numbers of people looking for support every year of the past decade,” Merchants Quay Ireland chief executive Eddie Mullins said.

“More and more people are now homeless for longer as they have fewer options, this. in turn, has a devastating impact on people’s mental health, physical health and can cause addiction to spiral. There is little doubt that easier access to more recovery services is essential.” 

Along with meals, the charity said that 1,103 of its clients availed of hot showers at its site in Riverbank in Dublin, an almost doubling of 2022’s figure.

It intervened on 290 occasions for young people aged 18-24 while also supporting 327 families nationwide. A further 692 people aged 55 and over were also supported by the charity.

The Merchants Quay Ireland addiction team carried out 1,197 addiction interventions with people last year, ranging from offering support to community detoxes.

18 alcohol detoxes were completed with clients in the community, and 14 benzodiazepine detoxes were completed during 2023, it said.

Referencing the soon-to-be-opened, medically supervised injection facility, the first of its kind in Ireland, at Merchant’s Quay, Mr Mullins said it signaled “a significant shift in society’s understanding that addiction is a health issue and requires a health-led response”.

“While this is an important step forward, we still have a long way to go,” he said.

“Recovery is only possible if people can access the services they need, when they need them. At present, there are simply not enough recovery and detox beds available to meet the demand.” 

Merchants Quay Ireland said in its report the facility is due to open in the fourth quarter of this year.

Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke, launched the report and praised the services it provides having visited it and witnessed the work first-hand.

“I am fully committed to ensuring that a person-centred approach to reducing harm and supporting recovery will continue to be at the core of Ireland’s drug policy going forward,” he said.

“I look forward to the Joint Oireachtas Committee’s findings and recommendations on the Citizens Assembly Report on Drug Use.”