Extern Strategy

Supporting people towards a better tomorrow

Our Five Year Strategy Vision 2030 A Trauma Informed Organisation

From our Past to our Present and into our Future With Extern now in its fifth decade, we draw strength from a rich history that continues to inform and inspire our work today.

We operate in a rapidly changing landscape where fast-paced political, social, economic and technological shifts are reshaping the ways in which we operate. These changes challenge us to think differently, forge new partnerships and create greater impact than ever before.

Throughout our journey, one constant has remained: our belief in the unique worth of every person who turns to us for support. It is this belief, combined with the compassion, dedication and respectful approach of our staff and volunteers that drives us forward. Together, we face fears, uncover struggles and walk alongside people as they move towards a better tomorrow.

A refreshed vision for the future

Our Purpose As a community and voluntary organisation, our primary purpose is to provide services to support adults, young people, families and children who are: • Facing family breakdown • Dealing with substance misuse • Impacted by suicide and poor mental health • Living with past offences or in the criminal justice system • Experiencing homelessness • Children looked after • Young people in alternative education • Engaged in alternative education and employability supports • Members of the Traveller Community • Living with neurodiversity We are commissioned by public sector bodies and government departments from across the island of Ireland.

Extern’s refreshed brand retains our core identity while embracing a renewed vision. With softer typography and pastel tones symbolising approachability, the design reflects Extern’s trauma-informed, people-focused ethos.

Moreover, it encapsulates Extern’s role in bridging gaps, meeting individuals at their point of need and linking people with vital services and supports across communities and geographic regions.

Extern coming together with service users and commissioners for joined up working

We meet at your time of need and fill the void

We are all about people

How we shaped our new strategy This strategy has been shaped by the generous insights and feedback of our commissioners, the people we support, our staff and our Board of Trustees. Its successful delivery will depend on the continued involvement of everyone who has helped guide its direction. Together, and in partnership with our commissioner-funders and dedicated team, we will bring this strategy to life.

Our Inspiration Something remarkable happened in Belfast in the mid-1970s. Almost by chance, a group of young social workers and probation officers who were like-minded and interested in the criminal justice system came together. Among them was John Fairleigh, an energetic law lecturer at Queen’s University They all shared a deep interest in the causes of crime and social deprivation and wanted to help improve the lives of young adults coming through the criminal justice system. Taking action, they set up the first hostel for individuals exiting prison in partnership with other supportive organisations who believed in the idea and wanted to help. Once premises were secured the Probation Service came on board with the referral pathway for accommodation and career supports. And that is how the very first service began with a group of volunteers with the passion to support people towards a better tomorrow.

In time, more hostels, day centres and night shelters were opened and services expanded in Belfast. However, funding was always a challenge. In order to overcome this and partner with government agencies to provide services in the community, the founding volunteers moved to formally name and register their services under the entity called Extern Organisation in 1978.

“When we started out, Extern was built on enthusiasm and idealism. We didn’t have any notion it would develop into the extraordinary and fully professional organisation it is now. But we had a firm belief that we wanted to change people’s life opportunities, because when we are given the right opportunity, guided by realistic expectations and treated with dignity, all of us can achieve remarkable things.”

John Fairleigh,

In 2024 Extern’s Founder, John Fairleigh and some of the original volunteers met with the current team enlightening everyone about the story of how it all began.

Extern is indebted to its founding volunteers and to John’s vision which inspires the organisation to this day. Five decades on, Extern continues to be led by volunteer trustees with a service portfolio that stretches to the four corners of the island of Ireland.

Extern has never lost sight of its founding principle – that resolving issues of inequality and lack of opportunity requires care and compassion, coupled with action. That is why the primary focus of everything we do is to treat people with respect and increase their opportunities for a better tomorrow with services that are relevant, practical and effective.

Founder Extern

Our Vision A society where everyone who faces crisis, discrimination, difficult personal challenges or societal inequalities, receives understanding and support towards a better tomorrow. Extern will play its part and will work to achieve this as a Trauma Informed Organisation.

Our Mission

Our Values

Our values are an expression of what we believe in and they are the five main principles of trauma informed practice. These values guide everything we do and how we interact with everyone.

Safety We will focus on ensuring the physical, mental and emotional safety of both our staff and the people we serve.

Choice We believe in the importance of choice.

This means giving people options and respecting their rights and responsibilities.

Collaboration We will work together, openly and honestly.

Every interaction will be respectful and inclusive so that we deliver our services effectively. By advocating with others, we will influence policies that create positive changes in society.

To deliver quality trauma informed services that tackle the biggest problems and challenges people face, and to support them to be safe, flourish, feel valued and hopeful. We will ensure that their voice is heard, always.

Trustworthiness We will make sure our guidelines, policies and behaviours promote honesty and respect amongst our staff, service users and funding partners.

Empowerment We will help people reach their personal goals by offering guidance and support. When people feel empowered, they grow in confidence and enjoy a more fulfilled life with a strengthened sense of purpose and worth.

Our diversity is our strength

Our services evolve and innovate to meet people exactly where they are.

Individual Circumstances

Childhood Trauma

Poverty

Adverse Situations Poor Mental Health

Addictions

Homelessness

People’s lives do not unfold in neat, isolated categories.

The challenges they face are often multi-layered and interconnected, each one influencing the next.

For five decades, Extern has responded to this reality by listening deeply, understanding fully, then designing services that flex, evolve and innovate to meet people exactly where they are.

At the heart of all we do is respect for where individuals are in their lives and a commitment to help them build resilience and move forward. This trauma-informed approach is embedded in everything we do. Our services are grounded in the needs of local communities and shaped by the lived experiences of those who use them. This ensures they remain relevant and effective in supporting people towards a better tomorrow.

Displacement

Offending Past

Family Breakdown

Marginalisation (Social)

Poor Education Attainment Attendance

Adverse Impact Social Connections

Wellbeing

Life Skills

Education &

Sustained

Employment

Accommodation

services

SUPPORT

POSITIVE OUTCOMES Harm Reduction & Recovery

Integration

Positive Community Engagement

Family

Sustainable

Unity

Housing

Positive Self Care

Economic Stability & Opportunity

Safer

Contributing

Communities

to their world

LIVES CHANGED

Here Are Our Goals GOAL 1

GOAL 2

GOAL 3

To positively impact

Strengthen Organisation Resilience in a fast-changing social, economic and fiscal environment which impacts commissioning and funding.

Build a Sustainable Future as a socially, environmentally and financially responsible organisation positively impacting society in its mission to support vulnerable populations.

people’s lives through transformative trauma informed services and to influence long-term change.

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?

Extern believes that everyone has the right to access support. We work with our funders to make it easier for people to use our trauma-informed services.

By sharing what we learn through data and research, we aim to shape policies and laws that help make society more inclusive for everyone.

Strong governance, a trauma-informed culture, digital tools and compliance help us deliver quality frontline services efficiently.

Supporting our people through diversity, inclusion and skills development helps them stay flexible and deliver their best work.

Finding new and varied funding sources will help us grow and improve our services, especially in the face of tightening government budgets.

Research will show how our work helps families, young people and individuals build stable lives, contribute to society and create better futures.

“Every day, we are inspired by the people we support their strength, resilience and determination to overcome challenges sets the benchmark for all we do. Their journeys motivate us to keep innovating.

With this new strategy, we will continue to walk beside those we support and deepen our social impact together.”

Leslie Ann Scott Chief Executive Officer Extern

How we will achieve Our Goals Extern will achieve its goals by providing traumainformed services that make a real difference in people’s lives and help create lasting change. We operate in a fast-changing world and in order to stay strong and remain relevant, we will continually improve our internal and external operations, making sure we can adapt and respond to new challenges.

It is in our nature to be socially, environmentally and financially responsible. This will enable our charity to continue building a sustainable future and fulfilling our mission to support vulnerable populations across society.

Our Six Strategic Pillars

THE PEOPLE WE SUPPORT

OUR COMMISSIONER FUNDERS

We AIM to

We AIM to

• Support people as we find them through a positive, trauma-informed approach where they experience being listened to and their needs are put first.

• Be a valued and trusted service delivery partner.

• Ensure everyone, as a priority, experiences wellbeing and safety.

• Empower people to lead the change they want in their lives so that they develop and flourish as they achieve greater independence. We will seek feedback so we can evaluate and build upon the impact of our approaches.

• Be inclusive, ensuring everyone is treated fairly and equally, and has access to the resources they need when they need them.

• Offer opportunities to value lived experience and to lead positive changes for both the individual and our services.

• Continue to serve people who are excluded and isolated to improve their lives and contribute to their communities through access to the right services.

• Evidence service impacts and better communicate outcomes to advance our vision of a society where everyone who faces crisis, discrimination, difficult personal challenges, or social inequalities, receives support and understanding and have better experiences.

• Strengthen Regional Presence and Accessibility of Services.

• Develop our services as trauma-aware, deepen quality delivery, enhance through technology, uphold the highest standards of safe practice, and promote continuous learning and collaboration with our commissioner-funders.

• Improve the engagement and contribution of lived experience in the development of services.

• Achieve our mutual goals through open and transparent collaboration and have the best collective impact together.

• Share our knowledge, insights and expertise to positively support the development of commissioner future priorities • Be accountable in all our activities, challenges and opportunities and foster deeper professional relationships with our funders.

• Ensure services evidencebased impact is communicated with commissioners and jointly reviewed to shape greater outcomes for the people we serve.

Extern’s six strategic pillars guide and support the delivery of our strategic goals.

OUR GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY We AIM to • Develop a vibrant impact focused work environment where trauma informed values and behaviours are at the heart of our culture.

• Enhance employee experience, focusing on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and the voice of our people to shape our approach.

• Continually improve our recruitment and retention outcomes, creating a workforce that supports the delivery of exceptional service and positive outcomes for all.

• Foster a culture of learning and development to meet diverse needs across the organisation.

• Bring out the best in our people and invest in leadership and management capability and promote cross-functional partnership working.

• Build a distinctive voice and reputation for Extern. We will amplify the voice of the people we support in the media.

• Build Public Affairs and Stakeholder engagement plans in partnership with commissioners.

• Shape the debate with Government, commissioners, media and society to evolve attitudes. Show our work in action by evidence-based insights and sharing real life impact stories.

• Deepen our engagement and expand the ways we communicate with Our People to nurture an open and honest culture as a Trauma Informed Organisation.

• Evolve and innovate our funding streams to broaden our base to form new partnerships to support future growth and service models.

Our strategic pillars have been developed to underpin the delivery of the highest quality services for the people we support

• Demonstrate our commitment to the highest level of charitable governance with absolute integrity, openness, transparency and accountability in all we do.

• Advance our organisation’s focus on its Sustainable Development Goals.

• Act with financial propriety and transparency in all our work and continue to improve how we manage the charity’s assets.

• Seek economic efficiencies as well as diversifying our funding base to fund the impact we want to have, and the organisational change we need for a sustainable future.

• Develop new approaches and technologies in our central support infrastructure and operation, to maximise efficiencies and further improve our operations.

In line with our commissioners’ analysis of future societal needs, we have developed eight core Services Aims which are delivered by a portfolio of Extern Services to meet the complexity of social challenges being experienced across the island of Ireland.

1 2 3

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will support individuals with complex needs to sustain and maintain independent living through holistic provision of services.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE • Supported Accommodation & Housing • Family & Youth Supports • Mental Well-Being • Youth Justice Reform Supports

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services are committed to the provision of long-term sustainable accommodation for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE • Supported Accommodation & Housing • Family & Youth Supports • Youth Justice Reform Supports • Mental Well-Being

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will focus on a harm reduction model with emphasis on focusing on harm reduction wellbeing.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE • Racial & Ethnic Minority Supports • Harm Reduction & Recovery • Mental Well-Being • Youth Justice Reform Supports

4

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will support family unity through the expansion of respite services and community-based supports.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE • Intellectual Disability & Neurodiverse • Family & Youth Supports • Youth Justice Reform Supports

5

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will aid the development of strong and inclusive communities by encouraging integration, active participation, collaboration, and sustainable development efforts to improve the quality of life for all residents.

6

HOW WE DELIVER THIS SERVICE AIM Mental Well-being Racial & Ethnic Minority Supports Family & Youth Supports Youth Justice Reform Supports

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will support individuals to achieve their education and/ or employment goals, to promote social and economic stability.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE Education & Employment Family & Youth Supports Youth Justice Reform Supports Care Experienced Children Supports Mental Well-Being Harm Reduction & Recovery Supported Accommodation & Housing Racial & Ethnic Minority Supports Intellectual Disability & Neurodiverse

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STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services will offer opportunities for people with lived experience to influence service design and delivery including opportunities for volunteering and direct employment.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE Education & Employment Family & Youth Supports Youth Justice Reform Supports Care Experienced Children Supports Mental Well-Being Harm Reduction & Recovery Supported Accommodation & Housing Racial & Ethnic Minority Supports Intellectual Disability & Neurodiverse

STRATEGIC SERVICE AIM Extern services are committed to shared learning internally and externally to provide increased service supports across the island of Ireland.

THE SERVICES SUPPORTING THIS AIM ARE Education & Employment Family & Youth Supports Youth Justice Reform Supports Care Experienced Children Supports Mental Well-Being Harm Reduction & Recovery Supported Accommodation & Housing Racial & Ethnic Minority Supports Intellectual Disability & Neurodiverse

Our Governance Extern is fully committed to ensuring the best quality standards of good governance within the community and voluntary sector.

Extern’s Governance structure and practices have recently been enhanced to ensure that the highest standards of oversight and scrutiny are applied by our board of directors.

Under our revised Memorandum and Articles of Association, Extern has one Board overseeing our three legal companies: Extern Group, Extern Northern Ireland, and Extern Ireland.

The Board is supported in its insight function by four Committees to ensure the necessary scrutiny and controls are in place across all corporate and services functions.

The four Committees - Nominations & Remuneration, Audit & Risk, Finance, and Services, Safeguarding & Quality, work with the Board, CEO and Strategic Leadership Team as critical partners, providing specialist insights, guidance, and where necessary identifying areas for improvement.

"Our strengthened governance structure reflects Extern’s deep commitment to transparency, accountability and excellence. As volunteer Trustees, proud to uphold the spirit of our founder, we are confident that these changes will support Extern deliver on its mission and respond effectively to future challenges and opportunities."

Aideen D’Arcy Group Chair

The Committees report on a quarterly basis to the Board.

Our services staff celebrate with the young people from our Refugee Support Programme who successfully completed our first Barista Academy – June 2024.

We will hold ourselves accountable This strategy document outlines our commitments to the people we support, our commissioners, our people and those who support us. We are committed to holding ourselves accountable for the delivery of our Strategic Goals.

We will actively monitor and review progress on our strategic goals over the next five years. We will track our progress through our Annual Plan using indicators of success and targets for the changes we aim to bring about.

The Extern Board of Trustees and the Strategic Leadership Team will review progress against our measurement indicators bi-annually to inform decision making in the organisation. Further, we have committed to a three-year review of the strategy and will share an update on the plan should there be refinements.

Registered Offices: Hydepark House, 3 McKinney Road, Newtownabbey, BT36 4PE Tel: +44 (0) 28 90840555 Fax: +44 (0) 28 90847333 Extern, 1st floor, Block 4, Monread Leisure and Commercial Centre, Monread Avenue, Naas, Co Kildare, W91 YWX3 Tel:+353 (0)45 878722

info@extern.org www.extern.org