This report is a community-based analysis informed by the opinions of the people who are experiencing substance misuse issues (who may or may not be engaged in services), families who have (or have had in the past) a member with a substance misuse issue as well as community representatives and those tasked with service provision and overseeing change.

This research forms part of a response to numerous drug related shootings resulting in a number of deaths in the NEIC, resulting in The Mulvey Report (Mulvey 2107). This report emerged from a community which had experienced multiple violent attacks arising from extreme criminal activity linked to drugs, many during daylight hours. One of the outcomes of that report was the establishment of a Programme Implementation Board (PIB) which comprised a number of sub-committees to ensure that issues facing those in the NEIC would be met with a co-ordinated response across Statutory and non-Statutory agencies.