NI drug deaths: Families march to demand better services

Organisers of the event said drug deaths have reached crisis point

Families of people who have died after drug overdoses in Northern Ireland have taken part in a demonstration to demand better services for those struggling with addiction.

They marched to Stormont, where 212 pairs of shoes lined the steps - one for each person who died following an overdose in 2021.

That number is the second highest on record.

Organisers of the event said drug-related deaths were at crisis point.

Belfast councillor Paul McCusker said too many people had been "failed by the system".

"Sadly the numbers will continue to rise if we don't see a response very, very soon," he said.

"I speak to families daily who are worried about their son or daughter and who are not sure they're going to be here tomorrow - it's devastating."

Mr McCusker, the founder of the People's Kitchen homeless charity, organised the demonstration.

He and said volunteers "can only do so much" and action from government was urgently needed.

Drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland doubled over the past 10 years

One woman whose brother died after an overdose in 2020 said it was "really emotional to see other families who've been through the same things I have".

"There wasn't much support out there for the family of him - it was hard going," she said.

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Another woman, who lost her 20-year-old grandson in July, said his death was hard to come to terms with.

"He was so full of life," she said.

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) figures from 2022 showed the number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland doubled over the past 10 years.