MQI provides frontline services, practical supports, pathways towards recovery and innovative responses to the issues of drug use and homelessness in Ireland.A line from one of our most recent campaigns has really stuck with me, and sits right up front as one of the main reasons I work for MQI..."Any parent who has lost a child will tell you time doesn’t heal, but rather you learn to cope better, with time. Whether it be suddenly or to illness – Irish communities always rally and come together to support the grieving family. But what if that child loses their life due to an overdose - the shameful truth is that if you lose a child to addiction, the stigma surrounding that addiction is so real – that often the family feels ashamed; and as a result the sadness and grief is made so much heavier. They often have to do it alone.As a country- we need to change this. There is no time. It must happen now. Addiction is a health crisis right across the country. Families and communities are being left devastated by overdose and shouldn’t have to deal with the pain of being stigmatised on top of the deep trauma they are already coping with. We need to rally around these families and show support to them. As they grieve the loss of a child....a sister, a brother an aunt an uncle...we need to stand beside them."We need to open the conversations around addiction, of any form. Have the awkward chats. Make it "ok" to talk out. You never know what your neighbour might be going through.It comes full circle to the main ethos of MQI - begin with a cuppa, open up, and the road will get a lot less bumpy, and eventually even, start to flatten out. We can't do it alone, so lets do it together.