Drug-related deaths are at an all-time high in the UK as people who use drugs are failing to matter. Drawing on ‘matter’ as a social and material process, which is ‘done’ rather than ‘given’, there is a sociological imperative to address this (lack of) ‘mattering’. Using an explorative and innovative methodology, the project will explore ethnographically some of the current and hidden ‘mattering’ or care practices across three field-sites in London – at a drug service, drug policy advocacy organisation and recovery theatre company. Following these observations, interviews will look more specifically at where ‘failings’ in care may be occurring – where some ways of ‘being with drugs’ are made more possible than others and as a result how some marginalised forms lead to harmful encounters with drugs. Finally, the project will ambitiously ‘intervene’ within these ‘mattering practices’. It will conduct workshops to map embodied experiences of drug use, and develop an installation for public engagement. By exhibiting these outputs, the project will help engender a more responsive and responsible public to drug use, directly addressing this shared problem in which people who use drugs are dying more than ever. Key words: drug-related deaths; harm reduction; care practices; creative methods Deaths recorded from drug misuse and poisoning in the UK are at an all-time high and continue to rise. As an emerging public health crisis, little is known about this increase and how to address it. Surprisingly, this situation is also failing to attract much political attention as commentators point to continued marginalisation of people who use drugs (PWUD). Addressing these concerns, this project seeks to explore ethnographically, across three field-sites, the experiences of PWUD and how they are cared for, both in attending to their health needs and bringing such needs to political and public attention. Furthermore, in an arts-based workshop, I will invite participants to map embodied experiences in gaining a better understanding of these needs. These outputs will contribute to developing an art-installation, and together will be exhibited to the public, including policy-makers and practitioners, to improve understanding and responsiveness to the current crisis.