'I was taking drugs all day, every day': Cork mother drug-free after treatment at Limerick addiction centre
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A drug and alcohol addiction treatment charity has seen a 26% increase in the number of women accessing its recovery services in the Mid-West.
Among them, a Cork mother joined an addiction centre after reaching her “last straw”.
In 2023, Elaine Cremin, now aged 34, joined Westbourne House, a Coolmine addiction centre in Limerick City, which allows women to undergo treatment while remaining close to their children.
From June to October of last year, she was in its residential treatment programme. She is now 15 months sober.
It was her family who urged Ms Cremin to seek help. She contacted Coolmine for the first time in 2022.
“I would have been in and out of addiction for years. When I finally went to Coolmine, not that I was forced in, but my family started to realise I had a problem, so they asked me to seek help,” Ms Cremin recalls.
“At first, it was so hard to stay sober, to stay clean. I kind of dipped in and out of addiction. In May 2023, I just had my final straw. Things had gotten worse between myself, my partner and my kids, to the point where I was just taking drugs all day, every day.”
That was when she asked if she could join Westbourne House.
“Things were really, really bad. I wasn't eating, I wasn't sleeping, I had a fear of people coming through the door, looking for their money and all of that,” she says.
In Westbourne House, Ms Cremin got back into a routine and joined groups to speak about her experience with addiction.
“I was in residential for 19 weeks, and I’m now 15 months clean,” she says.
Last year, Coolmine provided 2,523 treatments support in communities across Ireland, as well as 217 residential placements.
So far this year, Westbourne House has welcomed 18 new admissions. Among the latest admissions, most women are from Cork and Limerick.
The primary substance of abuse reported by more than a third of Coolmine’s clients is cocaine, closely followed by alcohol.
According to Coolmine, the average age of its clients is 31. Self-referrals account for 44% of admissions, followed by referrals from Tusla at 39%. Notably, 78% of new admissions were homeless upon entry to the service.
Coolmine team leader Aoife Marshall said: “The unique thing about Coolmine Mid-West is we wouldn't just support the woman in isolation, we support your family.”
Ms Marshall understands women may be wary of contacting them.
“You can make that call yourself. We don't look for any identifying information if you call and look for information. We offer support and allow the woman to choose whether we're the service for her or not,” she says.
This Friday, a group of people will be taking part in a fundraising abseil at Thomond Park, to ensure Coolmine can continue to deliver “vital” addiction recovery services.
Further information about the event can be found here.