The mother of a West Belfast man, who died from a drug addiction and mental illness just over a year ago, says she will not give up her fight for better support services.
Jack Brennan's mum Lorraine was speaking as the number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland more than doubled in the last ten years.
Some 218 drug-related deaths were registered in 2020, up from 191 in 2019 and more than double the 92 that were recorded in 2010, according to figures compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
Read more: Belfast mum's pledge to help others following son's death from drug addiction
The figures, which cover both drug-related deaths and drugs-misuse deaths, also showed that there were 17,614 deaths registered in Northern Ireland in 2020. Drugs-related deaths accounted for 1.2% of this total.
Males accounted for 70.2% (153) of the 218 drug-related deaths.
Since his death on January 18, 2021, Jack's family have been campaigning to set up a crisis and rehab centre in Belfast in his memory.
Over the past 14 months, they have held a fundraising evening in Donegal Celtic FC in their community to mark what would have been Jack's 24th birthday, organised a special padlock tribute with personalised messages and names of lost loved ones placed on the Glen Road and held a candlelight vigil at Stormont to remember those lost to mental health, addiction and suicide.
But his mum Lorraine says she really needs the help of other mothers like herself to campaign for real change.
"As I've said before, our young people have no help or support. The death of my son has devastated my life and my children's lives," Lorraine told Belfast Live.
Lorraine said she has sent a letter to Health Minister Robin Swann asking him to come to her home and speak with her family.
"No one is listening but these are our kids. We desperately need a rehab and crisis centres here in West Belfast for a start. We put people in power here so they have to listen to us, the people. No-one can imagine this pain. You only know if you've been through it," she said.
"So many young people are dying from addiction and mental health issues but it's just the same thing every time - a young person dies and there's a piece on the news about it.
"Everyone agrees it's going beyond that now and we need to stand together and demand better services. I would love to do something with other mothers who have lost their children so people can see and hear the agony we all go through."
Lorraine is also mourning the recent death of her own mum, Lily, who passed away just days after Jack's first anniversary.
"My own mother died four weeks ago and I can tell you she died of a broken heart," Lorraine said.
"She couldn't even mention Jack's name it was too sore. I miss my Jack every day. I loved him his whole life and I'll love him until mine ends. We need to say no more - our children matter."
More than half of the drug-related deaths (55%) were men aged between 25-44 years, while 30.7% were in the 25-34 age group with a further 24.8% in the 35-44 age group.
The figures also show that the age-standardised drug-related mortality rate increased between 2019 and 2020, for males from 14.5 per 100,000 males to 16.7; for females the equivalent rate rose from 6.2 per 100,000 females to 7.0.
Alex Bunting, director of mental health and addiction services at Addiction NI/Inspire said the figures were "extremely disappointing" and yet again demonstrate the challenges faced across the region and the huge task to support individuals, families and communities impacted by drugs.
Mr Bunting said: "This year we have witnessed significant increases in alcohol and drug related death statistics, this further demonstrates the need for the mental health and substance use strategies to be resourced appropriately and implemented in full.
"The 218 lives lost in 2020 were all preventable deaths and we need to reflect on how we reach and support people impacted by substance use/misuse. Stigma continues to prevent many people from reaching out and seeking help and support."
Two-thirds (66.1%) of drug-related deaths in 2020 involved two or more drugs. Some 133 drug-related deaths in 2020 had an opioid mentioned on the death certificate.
Heroin and morphine were the most frequently mentioned opioids in 2020, connected to 55 (25.2%) drug-related deaths, up from 46 (24.1%) in 2019 and the highest number on record.
Diazepam was involved in 23.4% of all drug-related deaths in 2020, while deaths involving pregabalin have risen consistently since its first appearance in these statistics in 2013. The annual number of deaths involving this controlled substance rose from nine in 2016, to a peak of 77 in 2019, but reduced slightly to 70 in 2020.
Mr Bunting added: "The report further demonstrates the challenges we face with opioid drugs such as heroin, the continued impact of prescribed drugs like pregabilin and the wider societal challenges with poverty and links to widening heath inequalities."
The number of drug-related deaths involving cocaine has remained relatively unchanged since 2019 (36 in 2020), however, the proportion of deaths where it is mentioned on the death certificate has decreased from a peak of 19.4% in 2019, to 16.5% in 2020.
The proportion of all drug-related deaths that also mentioned alcohol on the death certificate decreased from 16.2% in 2010 to 14.7% in 2020. This is less than half of the proportion seen in 2012 when the series peaked at 31.8% of drug-related deaths mentioning alcohol on the death certificate.
The statistics also indicated higher numbers of drug-related deaths in areas of deprivation across Northern Ireland, with those living in the most deprived areas almost five times more likely to die from a drug-related death than those in the least deprived areas.
If anyone is struggling with problems linked to alcohol or other drugs please reach out and ask for help and support at www.drugsandalcoholni.info or by contacting their GP.
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