In response to almost 5,500 deaths in England and Wales in 2023 due to drug poisoning The Salvation Army is calling for the roll-out of life-saving overdose reversal drug Naloxone in England and Wales.

It comes weeks after a young homeless man in Monmouth died from an alleged overdose.

Gill Waters, who recently championed a homeless camp out on Monnow Bridge has written to the MP, Catherine Fookes to put pressure on Monmouthshire County Council and the Housing Department “to respond to our petitions in a positive way”.

Back in February, the MP joined a group for a short time on Monnow Bridge where they were holding a 24 hour sleep out to highlight hidden homelessness, poverty and loneliness in Monmouth and the local region. (There’s no place like home).

One of the inspirations for the event was a young man who had struggled with addiction and inevitably ended up in prison due to shoplifting to support his habit.

He came out clean, but with nowhere to live and little or no formal support systems in place. He was supported by local people for over six months whilst sleeping rough in a local churchyard.

Gill claims that as the weather closed in, “he was let down again by MCC Housing: He breached the terms of his parole to be taken back into custody where he would have a ‘roof over his head and three meals a day.” she said.

“This young man was keen to rejoin society as a productive human being; however, as with many other people in Monmouth, he was virtually invisible, lacking dignity and self-respect in response to the way current ‘policy’ treats people like him,” she added.

He was released in May this year, and without the support that we were trying to achieve through the petitions on ‘the bridge’, he regressed, and sadly died of an overdose last evening.

“It was an avoidable death,” says Gill.

She claimed that MCC kept ‘kicking the can’ down the road, variously blaming the Welsh Labour Government “for not giving them budgets to cover what we are trying to achieve – when will it end?”

“The Housing Department have been disingenuous – to say the least,” she added.

At a recent meeting to discuss restoring the Nightshelter premises to Churches in Monmouth Housing Group to manage (with volunteers – very little budget required), Gill claims the responsible manager “filibustered the meeting for 30 minutes arguing why it couldn’t be returned to us, only to admit half way through, that the night shelter premises had already been leased to a developer who now had a planning application in to convert the premises into commercial and retail!” She claims they had known this for some time “and yet we were strung along, hopes being raised that we could make a dent in the misery of homelessness etc in Monmouth.”

She implored the MP to do anything to support them in their current battle with MCC and/or the Welsh Government

Naloxone, which can be given as a nasal spray or injection, temporarily reverses an opioid overdose to allow enough time for emergency services to arrive.

Gwent Police started using a nyxoid nasal spray in 2021. Officers who decide that they want to carry the spray will be given appropriate training on safe use.

The Salvation Army said that while the previous government committed to making Naloxone more widely available, “no timetable has been identified by the current government. The Salvation Army is encouraging Police forces in England and Wales to adopt a similar approach on a voluntary basis.

MCC have been asked for a comment.