Eden Henry

“[the deceased] had been staying at a highly supportive rehab facility. He was at high risk of relapse on leaving rehab. The move to hostel accommodation with a much lower level of support increased the risk of [the deceased] relapsing into crystal meth use. This was compounded by the absence of both his housing and substance misuse keyworkers at the point that he left rehab and moved into the hostel.”

“The needs and presentation of crystal meth users may not fit easily within mainstream drug treatment and housing services. Historically mainstream services have tended to build services and develop staff training around the presentation and needs of opiate and/or crack cocaine users. The behaviour of individuals whilst under influence of crystal meth can present challenges for services. In addition, as a disproportionate number of crystal meth users are gay men, they may experience homophobia whilst using mainstream services.”

“The provision of substance misuse services and hostel keywork support on a Monday to Friday daytime working model can mean that specialist support is not available at key times. Given crystal meth's associations with the club scene and nighttime economy, users are most vulnerable to relapse and resultant problematic behaviour during the night and at weekends. In [the deceased]'s case, signs of potential relapse were noted by hostel staff early on Thursday morning but were not escalated to his hostel keyworker prior to drug services closing for the weekend on Friday evening.”