Extern Northern Ireland Annual Report 2021-22

NORTHERN IRELAND ANNUAL REPORT 2021-22

NORTHERN IRELAND’S LEADING SOCIAL JUSTICE CHARITY

Chair's Message

A year ago it seemed like the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic would never end. The endless cycle of lockdowns and restrictions had a profound impact upon our lives, and especially those of the people we support.

And yet here we are, at the end of another year in which we have not only met but overcome so many of the obstacles placed in our way by those terrible events.

As with the previous year, Extern’s response as an organisation at every level was nothing short of inspirational. At every turn our teams rose to the challenge of ensuring that the people who depended upon us were not left wanting. It is a credit to our frontline staff and volunteers, as well as those working behind the scenes, that we were able to continue in our duties without significant disruption.

This is not to say that other challenges did not arise during this time. As for so many organisations across the voluntary and community sector, the shortage of skilled and experienced staff became an area of concern. While our teams continued to go above and beyond in order to manage this situation, this is nevertheless an issue which we must continue to actively address at the highest levels to ensure our vital services can keep functioning.

Funding – and in particular the need for multi-year support – also remained at the top of our agenda over the past year. No organisation can operate to the best of its ability if a long-term view is not factored into budget planning, and as we move forward we will ensure that this issue is not overlooked by those in power.

In spite of this, we have seen much positive growth in our work in 2021-22, not least the expansion of our Community Crisis Intervention Service, which has developed from a small pilot project to a more wide-ranging service thanks to generous government funding. I look forward to seeing how this and so many other of our projects will develop in the years ahead.

I have also been privileged to welcome new colleagues onto our Board of Trustees, whose experience and enthusiasm for their role will be of huge benefit to our work in ensuring strong governance and leadership going forward. We have also been fully engaged in helping to shape and develop a brand new five-year strategy, due for launch in the coming year, and I am confident this will further strengthen us as an organisation.

As we face into another year of challenge, not least with the Cost of Living crisis, the need for our services will be greater than ever among the most vulnerable in our communities. We shall, of course, continue to meet this need to ensure that no one seeking support is left behind.

It remains for me to thank everyone who has supported Extern over the past year, not least our commissioners, funders and partners without whom we would not be able to provide such a wide range of services. I thank also my colleagues on the Board of Trustees, the Strategic Leadership Team and all of the staff and volunteers who make Extern such a unique and special organisation.

Most of all, however, I would like to thank the very people we are here to support, our service users, who every day place in us that greatest gift of all – their trust.

Aideen D’Arcy MBE Chair, Extern NI

The challenges of the past year have given us much to reflect upon as we move forward into a positive future.

Welcome

In many ways we might be forgiven for being glad to have seen the end of a year which has been particularly challenging not only for Extern but our fellow peers across the sector. We have been faced with the resurgence of Coronavirus, ongoing funding challenges, the effects of political uncertainty, and increasing legislation and regulation in compliance and governance.

Sadly, so many organisations in our sector have struggled to recover from the colossal impact of the Covid pandemic, as the endless cycle of lockdowns and restrictions have had a dramatic impact upon the economy.

Yet, when we think of the journey that we have been on in those twelve months alone, we are filled with immense pride at what we have achieved and for the fact that we are still here, stronger and more determined than ever.

We have opened new projects, expanded existing services and brought others to a successful conclusion with valuable learnings and experience to apply across our work in so many other areas.

We have also continued to strengthen our existing partnerships, while building new relationships and exploring innovative avenues of service delivery.

Most importantly of all, thousands of young people, families and individuals have seen their lives continue to be transformed for the better over this past year alone. We often hear reflections from our service users describing Extern as a ‘life-saver’ - and that is no faint praise, as we have indeed been the difference between life and death for some of them.

So much of this is down to the incredible team of staff and volunteers alongside whom we have been immensely proud to work. Their incredible commitment and expertise is the envy of many organisations, and we are so lucky to be able to call them colleagues and friends.

Those qualities will undoubtedly be well-tested as we face into another year of hardship for those we support, not least with the cost-of-living crisis which will impact hardest upon the most vulnerable in our communities. Yet we will continue to be there for them, providing the same diligent, focussed and compassionate support for which we have become so well known.

We do so from a much stronger position now too, as we have dedicated great time and effort to ensuring that our policies, procedures and safeguarding measures are fully strengthened and tailored for every individual project. For this we thank our Boards of Trustees for their hard work in ensuring that this vitally important work has been carried out.

We also thank our commissioners and funders for their ongoing support as we continue to ensure that our projects are better able than ever to meet the increasing needs within our society.

We hope that you find this annual report an enlightening and informative record of another incredible year in our organisation, not least the inspiring first-hand stories from those we have supported across such a wide range of projects.

These personal stories truly are the inspiration for our work, and we offer our thanks to our service users for the trust and confidence they have placed in us to support them through their challenges.

Strategic Leadership Team, Extern

Like so many of those we support, we have learned to draw strength from our experiences during this most difficult of years

We are Extern Northern Ireland

We will aim to change lives to support a socially just and inclusive society.

Our Mission

We will create opportunities and provide supports to enable everyone to meaningfully participate in society.

In 2021-22 we delivered services in 28 counties across the island of Ireland

Our Values

Respect

We value the feelings, opinions and rights of our service users, colleagues, and other stakeholders.

Integrity

All our decisions and interactions will be ethical, open, honest, and transparent.

Compassion

We care about our service users and colleagues and will act with empathy in all engagements.

Accountability

We hold ourselves and each other responsible for our decisions and actions.

Professional

We work inclusively with service users, colleagues, and key stakeholders to deliver high quality supports and evidence-based services.

Mayo Roscommon Galway Clare

Leitrim

Cavan Longford

Westmeath

Offaly

Tipperary

Limerick Kerry Cork

Waterford

Wexford Kilkenny

Carlow

Wicklow

Kildare

Dublin

Meath

Louth

Laois

Monaghan

Donegal

Antrim

Armagh

Derry Down Fermanagh

Tyrone

Why We Are Needed

2,920 people presented to services across NI for problem substance misuse in 2020-21

3,402 households in NI were living in temporary accommodation in January-June 2021

23,095 children in Northern Ireland were known to Social Services as a child in need in March 2021

351 alcohol-specific deaths were registered in NI in 2021

SOURCES: Information & Analysis Directorate; NI Statistics & Research Agency; Department of Health; Department for Communities Details available on request.

219 deaths through suicide were registered in NI in 2020

Highlights of 2021-22

1,478 people directly supported through our homeless services

There was good news for our ground-breaking Community Crisis Intervention Service with the announcement of £500k of funding to expand its services. Initially launched as a pilot project in 2019, the funding allows the Derry-Londonderry based project to continue its core work supporting people facing suicide as well as providing wraparound services to those with a variety of needs.

Our Innis and Dismas hostel teams were among the winners of the Adult Services of the Year award at the NI Social Work Awards, along with Kristina Januleviciute from our Linx team in the Children Services Social Worker of the Year category. And there was success for our Ormeau Centre team at the 2022 NI Health & Social Care Awards (above) when they took home the prize for Supported Living Service of the Year. Drugs outreach team member Neil Potter was also named Volunteer of the Year, while Danielle Finlay, from our Regional Homeless Support Team, was awarded Social Worker of the Year.

The launch of our new Extern Extras volunteer campaign met with a great response in May, with expressions of interest and applications received for a variety of roles, including telephone befrienders and drug outreach workers. The campaign has since been rolled out to the Republic of Ireland.

18,728

We celebrated the successful conclusion of a number of high-profile projects funded under the PEACE IV programme during 2021-22. The Third Space and Back on Track projects both supported young people with varied programmes of workshops, mentoring and engagement activities. And our Positive Learning project in Derry-Londonderry supported almost 300 people in building good relations and developing

We welcomed Ulster Rugby back as our charity partners for another year, following two very successful years of support from players and staff alike at the club. The main areas of focus for the partnership were once again on promoting our mental health services and highlighting the importance of sport and team activities in tackling loneliness.

5,799 people given direct support with mental health and/or addictions

people benefitted from Extern NI’s support

has provided vital support to our frontline services

While volunteers have played an active role in Extern’s projects for many years, it was in 2021-22 that the organisation approached the idea of recruiting at an island-wide level in order to further support the work of its frontline services.

Following a comprehensive review of volunteering needs across the organisation, the Extern Extras programme launched in May 2021 with a special online event.

The first round of recruitment featured a range of roles including Telephone Befrienders and Linguists. Volunteers were welcomed to a number of projects including Roscor Youth Village, Floating Support, LAC Mentoring Support, the NI Refugee Resettlement Service and Reach Out.

As well as recruiting new volunteers, a key aim of the Extern Extras programme has been to recognise, celebrate and support the existing cohort of volunteers and Community Champions, many of whom had been volunteering directly on the frontline throughout the pandemic.

In December, they were the focus of a festive celebration event which included first-hand testimonies from volunteers and Community Champions about their personal reasons for volunteering and the difference they are making in their communities.

Following the success of the programme in Northern Ireland, in January 2022 applications opened once again, this time to include the Republic of Ireland as part of Extern’s first-ever dedicated volunteer recruitment campaign there. New opportunities were offered in Dublin, Cavan, Dundalk and Drogheda, including a new Youth Engagement volunteer role.

At the same time, new opportunities were offered in Northern Ireland including a pioneering new Drug and Alcohol Support volunteer role aimed at assisting the staff teams across Extern’s drug outreach services in Belfast city centre.

The programme has continued to go from strength to strength, with plans for developing new roles and opportunities into the following year.

I began using substances from quite a young age - by the age of 16 I was smoking crackcocaine and then by 17 I was fully dependent on heroin. I got into problems and had to leave my hometown, and found myself homeless.

I ended up in temporary accommodation and went through the whole hostel system. Eventually I managed to get my own place and linked in with the support services I needed.

Now I volunteer in the Needle Exchange and Street Injectors Support Service in Belfast three to four times a week. We go out around the streets doing outreach work - sometimes we would find people in car parks that could be dying due to overdose. We use a drug called Naloxone to reverse overdose and administer first aid as well.

Volunteering with Extern has completely changed my life. It has given me a real sense of direction. Growing up, I never thought I would have a purpose in life, but now I have something to get out of bed for in the morning.

Winning the NI Volunteer of the Year Award was mind-blowing. It means the world to me. To be up on stage in front of hundreds of people was nerve-wracking but it was amazing to be able to read out my speech and send out a message that things have to change. It was also nice to be able to bring something positive to my mum’s door after years of bad news.

Neil Potter, Volunteer, Drug Outreach Team

Offering a haven of hope

Our fundraising work continued to grow with the launch of a new island-wide campaign to support young people

The Spring saw the launch of our new Safe Haven Appeal, raising funds for our respite centres across Northern Ireland and the Republic. The appeal (right) ran through to Christmas and was successful in raising nearly £20,000 to support our work with vulnerable children.

Support for the campaign came from local businesses including AXA NI and AllState, as well as via our ongoing partnership with Ulster Rugby, who supported the appeal throughout the year, organising collections at matches, and a staff Christmas Jumper Day. The club also helped secure a fantastic donation from the Curran Family Foundation and arranged the fabulous Bangor RFC choir to perform and collect at a number of events throughout the runup to Christmas.

It was a busy year for community-based activity too, with a growing number of enthusiastic individuals and community groups raising funds and awareness for Extern, despite the ongoing

We also received support from a number of sporty fundraisers, including Jordan Gough, who took to the pavements for the Belfast Marathon, raising an incredible £3,037 in memory of his

Jake Bainbridge, who organised a five-aside football tournament in the community, raised a fantastic £400 in celebration of World Mental Health Day. And a hardy group of fundraisers –including some staff members - braved dizzying heights to abseil 100ft down the iconic fairytale tower at Belfast Castle (left). Together the group raised a fantastic £2,190 towards our Safe Havens, enabling Extern to keep helping local children in

Online fundraising also played an important role in our work, with Larne

Providing inspiration across generations

and families we support were not left behind during this challenging year

Throughout 2021-22 our Young People and Families services experienced an increase in demand and in referrals, with most projects managing a waiting list.

The impact of lockdown invariably had an adverse effect on some of our most vulnerable young people, and statistics published during the year on children’s social care in Northern Ireland showed an increase in the number of young people entering into care.

Overall, the number of looked after children in Northern Ireland has risen by 41% in the last ten years, and in March 2021 was 4% higher than at the same time the previous year. This increase at a regional level inevitably put pressure on our organisational services with an increase in demand across all Trust areas.

A reduction in the number of foster care placements and the availability of short breaks due to Covid restrictions also placed additional strain on our most vulnerable young people.

Staff quickly adapted to the challenges of Covid restrictions by ‘upskilling’ themselves with technology and creating a blended programme of online and faceto-face services designed to meet the needs of our

As Covid restrictions were lifted, our services saw a rise in the level and complexity of need displayed in our young people. In particular, there was an increased need for support in the area of mental health, with social anxiety and self-harm particularly prevalent.

Each young person was provided with a tailored support package which was co-designed through the use of the Outcomes Star tool, with their individual progress being fully measured and celebrated. Young people transitioning from our services also did so through a structured exit plan which identified further support and signposting to enable them to continue on their individual pathway.

young

I was referred to Extern’s FACES project at the age of 11 along with my siblings. We had just started a fostering placement, so this was to help us to settle into our new situation and get some extra support.

A few years later I joined the Pathways project to complete my education, and gained a range of qualifications including English, Maths and ICT.

As my journey with Extern progressed I was given a mentor to work alongside and they helped me look at the options I had. I decided to return to my former school and I am now starting to do my A-Levels. I even did work experience in the summer alongside the Extern staff which really boosted my confidence!

Throughout my time with Extern I struggled with my mental health and other issues I was facing in my family. But every time I needed help and support Extern were there to help and provide a listening ear.

Extern has given me so many special memories and allowed me to try new things in a safe environment. Working with Extern was a brilliant opportunity and helped me through some hard times in my teenage years.

David,

FACES/Pathways, Belfast

people provided with education, training and employment opportunities

Providing inspiration across generations

Third Space was one of 11 Peace4Youth projects funded by the Special EU Programmes Body as part of the wider PEACE IV plan. Delivered in partnership with leading local arts organisation Verbal, the programme supported over 700 young people with making positive change in their lives. The conclusion of the project was marked with a special celebration event at our Queen Street premises attended by former and current service users, as well as key partners and stakeholders in the project.

The Personal Change Programme was part of Belfast City Council's PEACE IV programme, and worked with marginalised young people to explore issues of equality, identity, diversity and peacebuilding. It supported over 40 young people from across Belfast through one-to-one mentoring, group work, sports, cultural visits and OCN qualifications.

One important aspect of the programme was that it allowed the organisation to employ a number of Peer Mentors, young people with lived experience which they could use to better engage with project participants.

This proved particularly timely as the wider national issues of recruitment into the voluntary and community sector impacted on our ability to fill vacancies within our projects. This continued to be a major issue of concern as we moved into the new financial year.

Through our PEACE IV programmes, our Communities in Transitions programmes and our Conversation Piece initiative with the PSNI and Belfast City Council, where we facilitated difficult conversations between young people and the PSNI, Extern have demonstrated that as an organisation we can make a positive contribution to making a lasting impact within and between communities in Northern Ireland.

Going forward the aim of our young people and families services is to consolidate our core services and secure our transitional mentoring support services for 16-24 year olds.

This will involve working alongside Ulster University to identify a baseline for the role of mentoring within Extern and promote this as a model going forward in social care and employability. Such has been the success of peer mentoring that we will continue to look for opportunities in new tenders to establish this as a core of our service model going forward.

2,408

I was really struggling in my life when I first heard about Extern. I was facing feelings of anxiety, having low moods and was just so stressed out about things.

A friend put me in touch with Extern and from the very beginning I felt safe and supported. My first meeting with the team had a real sense of energy, of understanding and importance, which helped immensely.

The guys at the Youth Engagement Service provided a place for me where I could speak honestly about what was going on in my life.

Just having that space to share and talk helped me feel heard and less alone in my problems. This helped me come to terms with my own feelings and get advice on what I needed.

I understand now how to better handle issues in my life and have more of an insight into healthier coping mechanisms. Reaching out to Extern, even if it is just for a chat, can make all the difference if you are struggling like I was. I would recommend it to anyone.

Connor, Youth Engagement Service, Belfast

young people provided with mental health support

Meeting needs of those on the edge

Many of our harm reduction projects in Belfast had maintained in-person and street-based engagement throughout the pandemic period and continued to provide support at the point of need.

Our crisis-based mental health services also continued to provide much-needed acute response services with increased phone and face-to-face contact. Community-based projects also began to organise and run events in their local areas, while access to counselling and alternative therapies provided crucial supports to those impacted by the isolation imposed during the lockdowns.

There was good news in particular for the Community Crisis Intervention Service (CCIS) in DerryLondonderry, after it received £500k in funding from the Mental Health Support Fund, part of a £24m package of funding made available by the Department of Health, and administered and managed by the Community Foundation NI.

This has enabled the project to continue its core crisis response work as well as develop an expanded programme of wraparound care for individuals engaged with the service.

This year also saw the closure of our Belfast-based Dual Diagnosis Street Service, which supported 40 individuals with mental health and addiction issues who were

homeless. It has since been developed into a smaller model which incorporates the values, key practice goals and focus of the service into the already existing Street Injectors Support Service.

Aside from the obvious impact of Covid, all of our services saw increased demand. Referral numbers increased dramatically in the latter half of the year and many projects began to run triages and waiting lists in order to prioritise those most in need.

The willingness to adapt our delivery models and approaches – particularly against a backdrop of wider shortages in recruitment into the voluntary and community sector - has meant we have continued to deliver high-quality services in the face of adversity. This has led not only to stakeholders acknowledging how Extern’s addictions and mental health services have been key to addressing societal demands but has also brought very positive service user feedback.

An example of this is our Belfast Needle Exchange service, which continued to offer both static and outreach engagement throughout the pandemic. As well as an increase in the number of exchanges, the team responded to a significant number of overdoses, administrating Naloxone and performing CPR which undoubtedly saved lives.

Going forward our priority has been revisiting our knowledge and skills base to ensure that we continue to deliver cutting edge services to those who need them most. We aim to continue playing a leading role in shaping future drug and alcohol services, as well as developing and expanding our mental health services by both consolidating our community-based projects and preparing for the commissioning of new mental health services in 2023-24.

great demand as we began to emerge from the worst of the Coronavirus lockdowns.

2,494

I lost my identity after an emotionally abusive marriage. I had no self-worth. I was feeling so down and it was hard for me to keep going. I was a full-time carer for two of my adult children too, so life could be a struggle sometimes.

Extern provided weekly counselling sessions for me which gave me the skills to deal with the challenges I faced and to challenge the perceptions I had of myself. I now have more of a sense of self-belief, which really helps me keep going.

My counsellor understands me in a way no one else does and that’s what makes it so easy to talk to her. It feels like she understands my situation in a way that others can’t. She gave me the tools to cope and deal with challenges.

She enables me to see a different side of myself, a side I didn’t think existed. It’s like I get an emotional hug every time I’m with her.

Karen, Reach Out, Belfast

people given support from our community mental health and wellbeing programmes

Giving people a strong voice

pressure on services, while conflict overseas brought the plight of refugees into sharper focus

The social isolation which resulted from the ongoing Covid restrictions undoubtedly had a profound impact on the wellbeing of those facing homelessness throughout the year, as many frontline services were unable to engage closely with service users.

In spite of this, Extern’s frontline teams continued to offer face-to-face contact where possible, providing vital services to over 1,300 individuals and families, with the aim of identifying suitable accommodation options whilst focusing on other complex needs such as addictions and mental health.

Funding was sought from commissioners to develop new services in specific geographical locations which would engage intensively with people with the aim of reducing homelessness and sustaining tenancies.

The overall aim of this would be to expand such a model of support to other areas within Northern Ireland as a response to the growing numbers of homeless families and individuals who had been presenting throughout the year.

Within Belfast, our projects engaged with a number of other external service providers in implementing the Complex Lives initiative, which aims to address homelessness and interrelated issues including drugs, alcohol and mental health. This multi-agency approach enables a co-ordinated wraparound approach to improve access to accommodation and treatment for people who are unable to find appropriate services to manage their circumstances.

Within our refugee services our teams set up online English classes, youth support programmes and mental health groups to ensure families and individuals remained engaged and connected to services.

During the second half of the year the teams returned to face-to-face delivery and weekly support clinics across a number of locations. Funding was secured to ensure the project could continue its work, albeit with

The crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine further presented a requirement to be responsive and adaptable to changing circumstances, with the NI Refugee Resettlement Service taking immediate action to ensure that the needs of individuals fleeing conflict could be met.

The year also saw the successful conclusion of two Derry-Londonderry-based projects, Positive Learning and Back on Track.

Supported through €1.8m of funding from the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, Positive Learning provided vocational training and good relationscentred work to people who found themselves on the margins of society, including those who are homeless; have been involved with the criminal justice sector; are long-term unemployed; or who are refugees.

The Back on Track programme, which was funded by The Executive Office as part of the Communities in Transition (CiT) programme, and managed by CoOperation Ireland, provided employability and training opportunities to those aged 16-plus living in the Brandywell and Creggan areas of the city. A total of 60 people were engaged, many of whom went on to secure permanent, meaningful employment at the end of their placement.

The soaring cost of living and pressures on staffing and budgets continued to be the main issues affecting projects and service users as the year progressed.

As is the case for many organisations within the health and social care sector, recruitment into both new and existing posts proved to be a challenge to fully introducing services into new geographical locations.

The objectives for the following financial year have included engaging with government and stakeholders within the homeless sector to identify key changes and policy drivers which can effect positive change in how individuals who are homeless are perceived within

Due to depression and anxiety I found I couldn’t cope with keeping on top of things at home. I have difficulty doing even everyday things like cooking, shopping or budgeting. I wasn’t coping well at all, so I had to give up my tenancy.

I went to a hostel but found it too chaotic, so I applied to go to Extern’s MUST hostel in Cookstown. Things were much more structured there for me. There is a lot more support from the staff, and they spend a lot of time just talking to you and helping you get the support you need.

I feel a lot more stable and safe at MUST. There is always someone around to talk things through with or get you the help you need in order to move forward.

I always feel understood and not judged by the staff. They’ll always provide the help and support you need if you are willing to work with them.

people supported by Innis Centre and Dismas House hostels

Phillip, MUST Hostel, Cookstown

Appendix 1) Company Details

Chair

Aideen D’Arcy MBE

Other Directors

Allen McCartney

Brendan Johnston

Ian McAvoy

Andrew McCloskey

Stephen Leach (appointed 1 April 2021)

Jacqueline Armstrong (appointed 1 April 2021, resigned 24 November 2021)

Shane McLaughlin (appointed 21 October 2021)

Company Secretary

Ian McAvoy

Management Team

Danny McQuillan, (Interim CEO from 9 November 2020, CEO from 18 October 2021)

Dr Gavin Adams (Director of Business Development)

Jonathan Carroll (Director of People & Organisational Development)

Pauline Flynn (Director of Finance & Corporate Services)

Leslie Ann Scott (Director of Services RoI)

Thelma Abernethy (Interim Director of Services NI until 30 September 2021)

Principal Bankers:

Bank of Ireland

4-8 High Street Belfast BT1 2BA

Auditors: Moore NI

Donegall House

7 Donegall Square North Belfast BT1 5GB

Company Reg No: NI016083

Principal Solicitors:

Worthington Solicitors

24-38 Gordon Street Belfast BT1 2LG

Registered Office

Hydepark House

3 McKinney Road, Newtownabbey BT36 4PE

HMRC Charity No.: XN48714

Charity Commission No.: NIC105869

Appendix 2) Extern NI Board of Trustees

Aideen

D’Arcy MBE

Aideen was educated at Queen’s and the Ulster Universities. Aideen taught in the post-primary sector before embarking on a career in social housing for over 30 years, specialising in the provision of supported accommodation for vulnerable people. Aideen served on the NI Regional Council of the Society of St Vincent de Paul for over 15 years and undertook several initiatives to improve standards of accommodation and service provision of the organisation's homeless facilities throughout Ireland.

Allen McCartney

Allen is by profession a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, with degree qualifications in both electrical engineering and corporate leadership. He had a distinguished career at Director level in Northern Ireland Electricity and Viridian Group and brings a wealth of experience from previous public sector board appointments in the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority, the Department for Regional Development, and the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland. He is a Lay Magistrate and an Assessor for the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency.

Brendan Johnston MBE

Brendan is a social worker and has spent his career in statutory social work in Northern Ireland. He has had experience of many different roles in his career, working in all programmes of care, though mainly in the area of children’s services. In the late ‘90s he worked closely with Extern West, particularly with development of Killadeas, and later Roscor. More recently, Brendan was the first Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Social Care Council and was responsible for establishing the regulation of social care workers in Northern Ireland.

Ian

McAvoy

Ian lives in Belfast and was educated at MCB and London University. After graduating in economics Ian studied accountancy. After a spell in practice, he became the Finance Director of a leading Irish brand and was promoted to Chief Executive, holding that position for 16 years. He has much expertise in strategic planning, transformation, finance and marketing. Ian was Chair of PlayBoard, Vice Chair of Sport NI, Director of Sport NI, and is presently Vice Chair of Ark Housing. He holds the position of Chairman of Rugby at Queen's University, Belfast.

Andrew McCloskey

Andrew is a business professional with more than 20 years’ experience in global companies. He has worked in the procurement, IT, and planning departments specialising in the use of technologies to enhance business performance and holds a Master of Business Administration from Ulster University and a Law Degree from the Open University.

Stephen Leach

Stephen was educated at Cambridge University. He joined the Civil Service in 1975 and worked in the Northern Ireland Office and other Departments. In 1990/91 he spent a year in the USA as a Humphrey Fulbright Fellow. Subsequently he was involved in the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement and from 2000 to 2009 he was the Chair of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Board. After retiring from the Civil Service in 2009, he was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Health and Social Care Board. He has also served as a Parole Commissioner and as the Northern Ireland Commissioner on the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Shane McLaughlin

Shane is an Education Adviser for the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. Shane previously worked in Kabul, working with the Afghanistan government to improve learning outcomes for 70,000 girls. Shane has also worked for the UK’s Stabilisation Unit and the British Council working on multilateral policy and managing international education programs with UK and EU funding. Before joining the civil service, Shane was a secondary school teacher. Prior to teaching, he worked for the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust. More recently, he was the vice-chair on the board of governors for a Federation of Special Schools in London, where he volunteered between 2017-2020.

Jacqueline Armstrong

Jacqueline is a corporate solicitor with almost 30 years' professional experience gained across various private, industry and public sector roles, most recently as sole in-house solicitor at the Agri-food & Biosciences Institute. She is passionate about governance and regulatory compliance and already acts as a charity trustee of her church. Jackie volunteered during the Coronavirus lockdown at a Belfast Foodbank. This has given her an insight not only into the deepening food poverty which exists locally but also the other needs of users for which compassionate advocates are required.

Appendix 3) Financial Accounts

Statement of Financial Activities

an Income & Expenditure Account

*Exceptional Item

Extern Northern Ireland and Department for the Economy NI (DfE), the managing authority of the European Social Fund, reached an understanding earlier this year on ineligible historical costs associated with one project under this funding. The settlement of £601,879.40 relates to funding over six years 2015–2021 and was agreed to be remitted to DfE over one year. The total funding of this project over the six years was £8.5m. During all years, all costs were expended in the delivery of services. Annual auditing by DfE was part of the terms of funding and Extern facilitated auditing each year which verified the work, eligibility of expenditure and adequate trails. It was during the annual auditing in 2021 that some specific historical claims were identified as ineligible. Extern co-operated fully with DfE in an open and transparent manner to bring about an agreeable resolution. Extern continues to receive funding from the funder to deliver essential services to support the most vulnerable in our society.

The Extern Difference

There are many reasons why people choose to work with Extern. There are two core beliefs, however, that we call the Extern Difference, and they are:

We Don’t Walk Away

We keep going back. We believe in giving people as many chances as they need to transform their lives. Whatever problems or challenges a person may be facing, we keep going back - and back - until they are ready to engage with us. And if someone chooses to step back from working with us, we leave them with one important message: “When you are ready, however long that may be, we will be here for you. And we’ll say hello again soon.”

We Don’t Reach Out, We Reach In

We reach in. Every day we work with people who are marginalised, who feel isolated and vulnerable, and may find themselves unable to break out of the situation they find themselves in. So, when we knock on a door for the first time, we are often seeing an adult, a family or a young person at their most raw or vulnerable.

And we understand, because we deal in reality. We are proud to work alongside people who society may have forgotten about, or dismissed as ‘hard to reach’. So, when that person is ready, we help them open the door to begin to change their life, by reaching in and offering the support that they need.

Extern Northern Ireland Registered Office: Hydepark House, 3 McKinney Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 4PE

Tel: +44 (0) 28 90840555

Fax: +44 (0) 28 90847333

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