Peter McVerry Trust’s Residential Community Detox
As part of this month’s #InsideOurServices we are taking a closer look at the work of the Residential Community Detox.
The Residential Community Detox is one of the oldest services at Peter McVerry Trust. The service was originally set up as a methadone detox to help the thousands of people in Ireland living on methadone, a State-approved heroin substitute, and as an alternative to hospital-based detoxes. Today, the detox has expanded to deal with the needs of people and communities impacted by drug use and to reflect the type of drugs most prevalent among people in homeless services. People can now undergo a detox from methadone, codeine, suboxone, alcohol, cocaine and cannabis.
Located on a six-acre site in rural, north county Dublin, the service has a national remit and people from all over Ireland are referred to it. Almost 100 people use the service each year.
As well as providing a medically supervised detox treatment service, the facility also offers a horticultural aspect. In fact, the detox service is modelled on a Portuguese service visited by Fr McVerry in the late 90s. This aspect includes growing vegetables for the house and other residential services of Peter McVerry Trust as well as the inclusion in recent years of animals on site. The horticultural programme, together with other therapies including yoga, reiki and art sessions, really help people to progress through the programme to stay active and take their minds off the detox.
Peter McVerry Trust continues to review its services in order to best respond to the needs of people impacted by homelessness and drug misuse. With the recent addition of additional capacity on-site, we can now offer people treatment beds immediately after they have completed their detox.
Unfortunately, there is a real and ongoing need for increased addiction services and supports from stabilisation, through to detox and post-treatment supports and drug-free aftercare housing. Peter McVerry Trust continues to engage with the HSE, local drug task forces and the Minister for Drugs to make positive progress in this area.
The Residential Community Detox is funded with donations from our supporters and by the HSE.
*Please note that if you are an individual or agency seeking to make a referral or seeking specific, technical information on the service, please contact our Referrals and Assessment team at referrals@pmvtrust.ie
