This document is an external review of a piece of action research that was carried out in the South Inner City area of Dublin in 2021.

Public use of drugs and alcohol in Dublin has long been a focus of concern for many stakeholders. For example, residents of city centre areas that see a significant amount of drug and alcohol use may worry about the dangers or unsightliness of discarded drug litter. Equally, services and policymakers may be concerned that they are not reaching the people they hope to reach. Building on work that had been completed in 2020,2 Community Response (CR) and the South Inner City Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force (SICDATF) put in place an action research project focused on public use of alcohol and drugs across ‘hotspots’, primarily in the Liberties area of the SICDATF catchment.

The project aimed to: “…engage people and determine why people are using ‘hot spots’ predominantly in the Liberties area. The intention is to establish their needs and where possible, encourage people to avail of the appropriate services and supports.”

By doing this, the project hoped to: “…help to inform how all the services in the SIC can provide a unified response to some of the most vulnerable people in the community and seek a response to their needs that will be of benefit to them and the community.”

To achieve its goals, the project had seven objectives:
“1. To engage with people using hot spots that have been identified by the community where people are using drugs, and alcohol and discarding drug-related litter.
2. To establish the number of people using these sites. 
3. To establish if people are using other services or if they wish to have support, information, or referral to appropriate services.
4. To work with the project management group to agree on relevant KPIs that will help inform the work of the SICDATF and services in the area.
5. To reinforce inter-agency work that will benefit the service users and the community.
6. To collate all the gathered data
7. To liaise with community groups, networks, and services”

The project ran during the period May-December 2021. A staff member was recruited to carry out the work under the supervision of the Community Response Team Leader. For ease of reference, the staff member is referred to as the ‘Outreach Worker’ in this report. A project management group comprising Community Response and SICDATF staff provided overall project oversight and governance.