Homelessness overtakes addiction as main issue for Ana Liffey service users

Housing and homelessness overtook drug use as the most common reason people sought help last year from Ana Liffey, a charity best known for its work in the area of addiction support.The organisation’s 2025 annual report, published on Monday, shows substance use/treatment was the “primary reason” for which 23 per cent of its service users sought help last year. Ana Liffey said housing/homelessness was, for the first time, the primary reason for a higher proportion of contacts, with the issue accounting for 28 per cent of its service users last year.Other needs included social and welfare support (15 per cent); training and education (10 per cent); physical health (9 per cent); legal/criminal justice issues (5 per cent); harm reduction supplies (5 per cent) and mental health issues (4 per cent). READ MOREThe change reflects the “shift in the challenges” facing the 4,609 individuals who sought the organisation’s support, the report says. Founded in 1982 on Dublin’s Middle Abbey Street as the Ana Liffey Drug Project, the charity’s sole aim then was to support and advocate for people affected by drug harms who were mainly in Dublin city centre. Now named Ana Liffey, it is working across the Dublin region, the northeast and in Limerick, mainly with people affected by addiction but also in areas beyond substance use, including housing, domestic violence and welfare supports.Dawn Russell was appointed chief executive last year upon the resignation of Tony Duffin after almost 20 years in the post.The report says: “In 2025, Ana Liffey faced the challenge of recruiting a new CEO following the resignation of the previous CEO, who had served for 19 years.“The Board faced the challenge of recruiting the right candidate in a transparent and timely manner, ensuring the safe, effective and dynamic operations of the organisation could continue without interruption.”[ Further strike action at Oberstown averted after staff accept proposalsOpens in new window ]Russell said that while there was often a crossover between addiction and homelessness, many people Ana Liffey supported last year were not in addiction and just struggling to find somewhere to live.“It’s not always the case that homeless people are using substances. Neither is it the case that all of our clients using substances are homeless. These social harms can impact lives all across Ireland, regardless of background or other factors,” she said. “Our goal as a harm reduction charity is to meet people where they are at and support them from harm to hope, whatever that means for them in their own circumstances.”Increased economic pressures were “undoubtedly” the reason for “some of the people we see ending up in homelessness”, Russell said.“The sense that we are all only one pay cheque away from the risk of homelessness really resonates at the moment.” The charity is also working with younger people who have become homeless after leaving State care and women who become homeless after fleeing domestic violence.“As I look ahead, I can see new challenges on our path. Increasing domestic violence, increasing homelessness, new and potent street drugs and a notable rise in stigma towards those who society has let down,” said Russell.