This Dublin Woman’s Story Of Losing Her Brother To Drug Addiction Is A Must-Read

This is no denying that drug addiction is one of the most serious issues facing Dublin right now.

Hundreds of people die in our country directly as a result of drugs every year and the most basic steps towards fighting the problem, such as injection clinics, are still to be put in place.

One of the biggest challenges is the perception of drug addicts in our city and it can be easy to forget that every user is someone's parent, sibling, child or friend.

Journalist Niamh O'Donoghue took to Twitter this week to tell her story of losing her brother to a drug overdose, and it's incredibly emotional and thought-provoking read.

Before he passed away, Niamh spent several hours interviewing her brother on his drug addiction and later played the recording for her family the night before his funeral.

She has now posted the footage to Soundcloud in the hope of starting a conversation around drug addiction and the impact it has on those affected.

"Nobody chooses to become an addict; you don’t wake up one morning and decide that your life is going to be dictated by a substance, and this is something that I struggled to understand for a long time. Prior to knowing my brother's story, I would have been quick to turn a blind eye at a homeless person or an addict on the street," she told Humans Of Dublin.

"How about trying this next time you see a homeless person or an addict on the street: instead of passing comment or judgement, why not think for a second that that person is someone’s sibling, loved one, and child. It’s time that we, as a society change, our perceptions of addiction, start treating addiction properly, and start saving lives.”