Internationally, case management (CM) was first adapted in the 1980s to work with people who use drugs; however, the concept had emerged first in the 1920s.¹ In 2010, the Health Service Executive (HSE) published the National Drugs Rehabilitation Framework Document,² in which CM was outlined as a key component. This framework was in response to the earlier policy document, Report of the Working Group on Drugs Rehabilitation,³ which recommended ‘a framework through which service providers will ensure that individuals affected by drug misuse are offered a range of integrated options tailored to meet their needs and create for them an individual rehabilitation pathway.

Chrysalis is a community drug and alcohol service which has been operating for almost 25 years in Dublin’s north inner city.^1,2 The service has grown significantly since then, especially in more recent years; having started as a counselling service it has moved on to provide a range of other services. Its vision is that ‘everyone living with problem substance use should be empowered to fulfil their full potential and have access to the same opportunities and rights as others’.³

In September 2021, Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) launched a briefing paper calling for governmental support to provide gender-specific services for women experiencing homelessness and addiction, entitled A space of her own: the need for gender specific services for women in homelessness and addiction.¹ The briefing paper draws on the findings of a number of studies, in particular Responding to women with complex needs who use substances, which was published in 2020.²

People who use drugs (PWUD) and are aged 40 years or over experience particular challenges as a cohort. These include social isolation and exclusion as well as poorer physical and mental health outcomes.¹ The Ballyfermot Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force (BLDATF) commissioned a study on the needs of this cohort in their area of Dublin. Entitled It’s like we’re the forgotten...: an exploration of the issues affecting older people in Ballyfermot who are experiencing problematic drug and alcohol use, it was published in March 2021.¹

Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) is a national voluntary agency providing services for homeless people and those that use drugs. There are 22 MQI locations in 12 counties in the Republic of Ireland (see Figure 1). MQI aims to offer accessible, high-quality, and effective services to people dealing with homelessness and addiction in order to meet their complex needs in a non-judgemental and compassionate way. This article highlights services provided by MQI to people who use drugs in Ireland in 2020.¹

The Ana Liffey Drug Project (ALDP) is a ‘low-threshold, harm reduction’ project working with people who are actively using drugs and experiencing associated problems. ALDP has been offering harm reduction services to people in the north inner-city area of Dublin since 1982, from premises at Middle Abbey Street. ALDP offers a wide variety of low-threshold, harm reduction services that provide pathways for people who use drugs out of their current circumstance, including addiction and homelessness.