A woman who spent more than six months in residential care at the Coolmine drug and alcohol treatment centre in Dublin has said the facility changed her life for the better.
Anna Hanbury was a resident in Ashleigh House in 2022 after her life became unmanageable.
She said the stigma around mothers and addiction initially stopped her from reaching out for help.
“Coolmine changed my life so much for the better,” she said.
“I learned how to manage things on a daily basis, I got reunification with my children, I’m going to college now.
“I recently graduated from the Coolmine programme and I just really have so much more positive attitude.
“My message to people who need help is don’t be afraid to reach out, there is help out there and there is support out there.”
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The Coolmine centre has reported a sharp rise in cocaine-related cases, which represented 23% of all cases last year, up from 18% in 2022.
Overall, the number of patients treated by the service – 2,523 – increased by 6.5% last year, compared to 2022.
It said the growth in patients reflects the rising prevalence of addiction-related issues in Ireland.
“We’ve got alcohol prevalence in the southwest, in the Cork-Kerry region, and we’re also seeing the midwest there’s still a prevalence of heroin use,” said CEO Pauline McKeown.
“But largely in the Dublin region cocaine is the primary drug of choice for people seeking treatment.”
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage PreferencesSpeaking to RTÉ’s News at One, Ms McKeown said 49 babies and young children were supported in their women’s children residential services.
The services are one of only two mother and child residential treatment centres in Ireland.
She said this means a pregnant homeless mother or a woman with young children can access help without having to put their children in care.
Coolmine is marking 50 years in operation.
It is based in Damastown in Dublin and has 15 residential facilities and 22 satellite clinics in Ireland.
Its services also cater for diverse communities such as travellers, pregnant women, mothers with children and people involved in the criminal justice system.
