Belfast City Centre is the "worst that it has ever been" as overdoses and deaths have become a common occurrence due to the widespread use of illegal and prescription drugs, it has been claimed.
There were six deaths within a ten day period with outreach workers saying that the mixing of various different drugs and alcohol is having a lethal impact on users, many of which have been struggling with addiction for years.
Many of those who have lost their lives due to drugs in the City Centre area are sleeping on the streets or using temporary accomodation and can find themselves constantly looking for somewhere to sleep at night.
Read more: Calls for overdose prevention facilities after Belfast deaths
The mixing of drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine, ketamine, benzodiazepines, pregabalin and alcohol is believed to be the primary reason for the rise in deaths, while intravenous drug use is also seeing an increase in blood diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
Belfast Live joined councillor Paul McCusker who runs The People's Kitchen and spoke with some of those living on the streets and in hostels about the problems they are facing.
One homeless man in his 50s has been living on the streets for 10 years due to an alcohol addiction. The man said that Belfast City Centre 'is the worst that it has ever been' with regards to drug addiction and deaths.
He highlighted how vulnerable rough sleepers are becoming more dependent on Class A drugs, particularly heroin, which is leading to overdoses and deaths.
He also said that emergency accommodation is desperately needed for the community, claiming the 'crash beds' that are on offer for people can be worse than sleeping on the street due to alleged drugs, drink and chaotic environment within the facilities.
He also highlighted the difficulties that those suffering with addiction can have in accessing regular medical treatment. He has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, but due to his alcohol dependency he has been told he must go 72 hours without alcohol before he can receive any treatment and due to his addiction, doing this could bring him as much harm as the cancer.
Another woman in her 20s said she had been struggling with an addiction to heroin and had recently returned to using the drugs after being unable to get alternative medication such as methadone. Although she said she was no longer injecting the drug due to its dangers.
Others spoke of the difficulties they were having in finding the right accommodation to stay in saying they were worried about having to use 'crash beds' and struggling to get a hostel or apartment to stay in. They wondered why they were unable to get accommodation while others in similar circumstances to them were.
Paul McCusker said that the situation in Belfast needs to be addressed urgently and that more resources are needed in order to ensure that the homeless and those suffering with addiction in the city are protected and supported.
He said that there are a number of groups within the city who are providing help to those living on the streets and the establishment of a hub for the homeless which would include safe injecting and overdose facilities, could vastly improve the situation and people's lives.
The councillor also said that new legislation is needed in order to address the mental health and addiction issues that have led to people living on the streets, such as the provision of dual diagnosis services.
He said: "We are experiencing a crisis here in Belfast and nobody seems to want to take any steps to properly address the underlying issues that are affecting people.
"We are seeing growing numbers of overdoses on the street every week which are primarily a result of poly-drug use and there are an array of problems that need to be addressed in order to stop this and improve the circumstances for people.
"There are a lot of organisations that are working to support people living on the streets or with addiction, but the communication between them could be vastly improved allowing them to coordinate their services which would improve the outcomes for people.
"The establishment of a hub that would cater to those who are homeless or struggling with addiction would be able to bring all of the services together and create somewhere that can help people in a number of different ways rather than being passed around between them.
"Safe injecting and overdose facilities are also desperately needed and would help to stop the deaths we are seeing while also offering them support to treat their addictions and better their lives.
"There are organisations working on the ground such as Extern who have a lot of experience and knowledge and we need to support them to introduce better ways to support those who have an addiction.
"It is clear that people in Belfast would like to see things improve in the city centre but there seems to be no political will to implement the measures that are needed and we need to be looking at other countries, such as Finland with their housing first model, and trying to replicate their success.
"I would invite the Health, Communities and Justice ministers to join me in the city centre to see what it is like for themselves because I am sure it would open their eyes to how serious it is."
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