NI drug deaths: West Belfast woman 'needed help but there wasn't any'
- Published
Chloe Lennon's mother said drugs had "destroyed" her family
Chloe Lennon, from west Belfast, was 22 when she died from a drug overdose in November 2022.
Her mother, Lorraine, told BBC News NI her daughter started taking drugs at the age of 13.
"She suffered trauma and took cannabis to deal with that. Then she started taking pregablin, cocaine, heroin and strong alcohol."
Ms Lennon added: "Her mental health went through the roof.
"She needed help in Belfast but there wasn't anything when she needed it."
There has been a 40% increase in the number of drug-related deaths over the last 10 years, according to Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) figures for 2022.
A total of 154 people died from a drugs overdose in 2022.
This is a drop of almost 28% from the 213 drug-related deaths registered in 2021 but Nisra says it is important to note that "delays arising from system wide processes" can affect the fluctuation in numbers.
'It was too late'
Chloe's mother said her daughter self-harmed and was in hospital many times. "I remember sitting at bottom of her bed praying don't die," she said.
Two weeks after Chloe died, her mother said she received an appointment for help.
"One did come through, but they discharged her because she didn't attend," Ms Lennon explained.
"She didn't attend because she was already dead - it was too late."
Lorraine Lennon said she was lost without her daughter
Ms Lennon said: "Chloe and her sister Sophie used to do TikToks upstairs, and they would have been laughing away.
"Our house is quiet now. I'm lost without her.
"Drugs have completely destroyed my family. They've broken me. I can still hear her in my head."
Lorraine Lennon has called for a rehabilitation centre to be established in Belfast to help people with drug addiction.
She said: "I am calling on our politicians to get back to work and get a centre build for our kids. Our kids matter. Our kids are being failed. Our kids are dying.
"I would swap places with her (Chloe) in a heartbeat. She just needed help and it just wasn't there."
Families who have lost loved ones to drugs gathered for a vigil at Stormont
Families of those that lost loved ones due to drug overdoses took part in a vigil at Stormont on Wednesday evening.
Lorraine Brennan organised the event as part of the "Jack's promise" campaign.
Her son, Jack died from a drugs overdose when he was 23.
She said: "Jack needed help. He was crying out for help but there weren't the services available. Our kids are being failed time and time again."
"I'm urging the Northern Ireland executive to create a service that treats mental health issues alongside drug and alcohol addiction," she added.
Lorraine Brennan, whose son Jack died from an overdose, said she wanted to prevent other families from experiencing the same loss
Lorraine said: "I begged the mental health team to keep Jack. He begged to be sectioned. But he was let home."
Jack, who was from west Belfast began taking prescription drugs at 15.
By 21 he was using heroin and suffered from mental health issues, alongside his drug use.
Lorraine said: "We as a family, want to prevent other families from losing a loved one to addiction and experiencing this painful grief and loss.
"We want to give our young people more hope and support when they need it."
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