Extern Group Annual Report 2021-22

GROUP ANNUAL REPORT 2021-22

IRELAND’S LEADING SOCIAL JUSTICE CHARITY

Chair's Message

The challenges we have faced successfully this year show the passion, commitment and resilience of our whole organisation.

The profound impact of the Coronavirus pandemic upon the people we support, and upon our colleagues in the voluntary and community sector, is something which will be felt for many years to come.

It is hard to believe that already we have returned to relative normality in our lives. That we are still here, delivering vital, life-changing services to the people we care for, speaks volumes for our commitment to ensuring that no one in need of support is ever left behind.

That is down to the hard work of our staff, right across our charity, who every day strive to ensure that the most vulnerable and marginalised in our communities are provided with opportunities to transform their lives for the better. I and my colleagues across the Extern Group Board of Trustees are so proud of everything they have achieved.

The challenges we faced were not limited to the pandemic, as we continued to tackle the wider difficulties which affect our sector as a whole.

The shortage of skilled and qualified frontline staff is an issue that is having a serious impact on organisations such as ours, and without proactive steps being taken to address this situation, it threatens only to get worse.

We also face the ongoing impact of constraints in public funding across our sector, and we continue to lobby those in power over issues such as the need for multi-year funding that would create a more stable platform for service delivery going forward.

While such obstacles might normally inhibit growth, we have nevertheless seen many positive new developments in our work. These include further funding for the life-saving Community Crisis Intervention Service in Derry-Londonderry. We have also seen the expansion of our Bail Supervision Scheme to new areas in Cork and Limerick, where it continues its vital work of supporting young people engaged within the criminal justice system.

We have also welcomed the arrival of new colleagues onto the three Extern Boards. Their enthusiasm and experience brings fresh inspiration to our organisation and ensures our governance and oversight is as robust as can be.

Our new five-year strategy, due for launch in 2023, also promises to help us focus our plans and actions to successfully meet a wide range of critical needs equitably across our island. There will still be many difficulties to face as we move ahead, including the cost-of-living crisis, which will continue to have a shattering effect upon the people we support. This only drives us towards redoubling our efforts to ensure that these individuals and families are given the assistance they need to get through these difficult times. Of course, this crisis also affects all of our staff and we continue to engage with government commissioners to lobby for realistic levels of funding to enable them to be properly paid for their vital roles.

I am confident that these are challenges we will continue to meet, and I sincerely thank my colleagues on our Boards for their collective input and wisdom, freely given throughout the year. I also commend the Strategic Leadership Team for their continued hard work and commitment, as well as our wonderful staff and volunteers who are making a difference to the lives of so many.

Above all, though, I offer my warmest gratitude to the very people we are here to support, our service users, for allowing us the opportunity to make a real difference in their lives every day. It is a huge privilege to serve every one of them!

Allen McCartney Chair, Extern Group

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 Group

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

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

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

x6-7

higher rate of suicide among Travellers than in settled population across Ireland

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

40,000 people in Ireland are believed to have a gambling addiction

SOURCES: Information & Analysis Directorate; NI Statistics & Research Agency; Department of Health; All-Ireland Traveller Health Study. Details available on request

219 deaths through suicide were registered in NI in 2020

Highlights of 2021-22

2,392

The Extern Problem Gambling project continued to expand its reach with a series of workshops aimed at highlighting the dangers of betting among young people. The workshops, which were funded through the HSE National Lottery Grants scheme, were rolled out to students at secondary schools across the country to highlight the impact which problem gambling can have on individuals, families and communities.

Our ground-breaking Bail Supervision Scheme continued to reach in to new areas in Cork and Limerick following a successful tender to open new schemes. Building upon the success of the Dublin project, which opened in 2016, the new schemes include expanded referral pathways, while the Dublin project has now widened its reach to new geographical areas outside the city.

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.

young people and families supported in ROI

24,449

people benfittted from Extern's support across the island of Ireland

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 Safe Haven campaign was an important milestone in our work to build our fundraising profile across the island of Ireland. Launched in April, and followed by a Christmas-focused drive in December, the campaign helped showcase the life-changing work being carried out at our range of respite centres across Ireland north and south.

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

The opening of our new Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) in Drogheda at the beginning of the year has enabled us to bring even more supports to young people at risk of engaging in criminal activity. As well as intensive face-to-face support, the project provides young people and their families with access to one of Extern’s respite facilities.

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

to provide vital supports to young people this year

As we entered another year the ongoing Covid pandemic continued to pose difficulties for those we support through our Belfast-based MFMO project.

We witnessed an increase in young people and their families experiencing financial hardship, young people becoming increasingly anxious, family discord and breakdown, and young people expressing suicidal ideation.

In response, our team provided supports with crisis payments for food and utilities, as well as helping young people to access digital equipment to allow them to continue engaging remotely with our services during the lockdown. The team also provided additional peer mentor support to those experiencing high levels of anxiety and social isolation, as well as helping to facilitate family mediation and, where necessary, housing relocation.

Key activities were delivered through mentoring support and tailored to individual need through agreed action plans. These were then delivered in a flexible manner to adapt to personal circumstances, provide individual support and meet developmental needs.

Activities included both individual and groupwork programmes, with the aim of addressing barriers to

A core part of the MFMO project is providing informed advice and guidance to young people and signposting them to the support services they need. To this end, MFMO have established connections with other organisations across education, training and the voluntary and community sector.

Overall, the team had a positive impact, supporting a total of 119 young people throughout the year. A total of 80 qualifications were achieved, with almost half of those supported going on to training or further education and a fifth finding employment.

Throughout the year MFMO staff and a core group of young people took part in a wider collaboration at a national and international level as part of an ERASMUS project to develop a new mentoring handbook which includes a transition support plan detailing each individual young person’s support networks.

Meetings between the young person, their mentor and their training organisation also ensured consistency of support for young people as they progressed in their further education and training.

In addition to this, mentors provided advocacy support for all of the young people on the programme. This can take on many forms to include housing issues, mental

I was having difficulties at school due to bullying and anxiety, so when it came to moving on to college at first I rejected any help I was being offered. I was referred to Extern’s Moving Forward, Moving On project and slowly I began to open up to my keyworker.

I soon realised that the course I was on wasn’t right for me, so my keyworker and I spent a lot of time looking at my other choices. By this stage I trusted them enough to talk about the problems I was facing with drugs and my mental health. They helped me access counselling where I could talk through my issues.

After a few more mentoring sessions with them I decided I wanted to become a hairdresser and I enrolled on a training course, which I really enjoyed.

My home life took a turn for the worse, however, after I fell out with my mum due to the living conditions within our home. I wasn’t able to stay with her anymore and moved in with a friend. My keyworker was such a big help, though. They arranged emergency meetings to try and resolve the issues I had been facing at home – some of which were the reason I had been bullied at school. We managed to get practical support to make the house more liveable, and I was able to move back in again.

Jess, MFMO, Belfast

100% of our young people said they were happy with our service in MFMO

Learning new approaches

through the Practice Development Unit

The return to face-to-face delivery, although limited, was a welcome boost for our Practice Development Unit and revealed the value which staff place on being able to interact with one other as part of their training experience.

Nevertheless, challenges around resources, staffing and costs of running in-person training were further complicated by rapidly changing Covid-19 restrictions and Government guidance.

Moves towards a blended ‘hybrid’ approach of learning are now being adopted gradually in order to promote better engagement as well as allowing trainers to gauge levels of understanding, which can often be difficult to ascertain online.

Changes in policies within Extern over the past year have also had a significant impact on the PDU’s work as staff have adapted their training in line with these. Going forward, a key priority will be to continually review training provision and content to ensure that policies can be kept up to date with changes.

Key among these are policies which have been created and adapted in line with the Safeguarding Review. This has provided the PDU with key responsibilities in ensuring that staff are provided with essential safeguarding training that is relevant and appropriate to their role.

Overall, the PDU made a significant contribution to the Safeguarding Review, working to identify problematic areas and agree potential solutions. This included the need for more bespoke training within services to make it more relevant to the needs of staff.

The PDU has also continued to play a vital role as part of Extern’s Volunteer Steering Group, which this year saw the first intake of volunteers as part of the Extern

Extras programme. The PDU developed a comprehensive induction programme for volunteers, which was rolled out twice during the year, as well as recorded training for those staff performing the volunteer supervisor role. This induction programme provided an effective introduction to the organisation, giving volunteers the opportunity to develop key areas of knowledge.

Greater focus on Trauma Informed Practice in our work has also seen training opportunities provided for staff and managers in NI and ROI, as well as the delivery of a bespoke training session for Extern Board Members. The central aim of this has been to build evidence-based knowledge and understanding throughout the organisation of the impact of trauma.

A key message of the training has been that traumainformed ideas must influence our policies and procedures, as well as guiding how we support colleagues throughout the organisation who may have their own traumatic past experiences and are at increased risk of vicarious and secondary trauma.

Priorities going forward will now be to develop training in line with new safeguarding policy and procedures, including an E-Learning programme, which will be accessible for all. The rollout of bespoke safeguarding training for each project is a considerable task, which will involve planning and delivering project-level training in partnership with managers.

Overall, Extern will endeavour to show leadership and guidance across the sector and will strive to remain competitive, showing our commissioners that we commit to excellence in our delivery of services.

Tell us a bit about your placement with Extern – what were you expecting?

I liked Extern’s person-centred approach and the way they work in partnership with the service users. I was unsure at the beginning how the Time Out respite programme would work with my placement as I did not know that staying overnight would be an option. However, I soon realised that not staying overnight would mean missing out on valuable time with the young people in the evenings, which is often where you can gain good insight and engage in meaningful conversations.

What specifically did you like about your placement?

I liked how personal the placement was as it was clear when I first started that the weekend is about the young people, and what they want to do. When we sat down on the first evening and talked through our plans for the weekend, every young person was involved in the decision-making process.

What were the particular challenges you faced over the course of the year?

I felt quite nervous about how to interact with the young people, especially when talking about difficult or sensitive topics. But I learnt a lot from the other team members about how to approach this.

Why did you choose social work as a career?

I have a strong desire to support others and to listen and engage with people. Although many people think social work is simply about child protection, it is actually very diverse and gives people like me the opportunity to work with many different service users in different aspects of their lives.

What would you say to others who are considering a placement with Extern?

Extern is a great place to have a career in social work as there is such a wide range of service users that you can engage with throughout the many projects that they have. The people who work for Extern are hard-working and dedicated individuals who want to see the best for all service users that they work with, which makes placement a very positive and uplifting experience.

Social Work student Maria spent her placement with Extern as part of our Time Out team, providing respite care to young people.

Appendix 1) Company Details

Chair

Gerard Campbell (resigned 25 November 2021)

Allen McCartney (from 2 December 2021)

Other Directors

Aideen D’Arcy MBE

Ian McAvoy

Brendan Johnston

Andrew McCloskey

Jim Daly (appointed 2 December 2021)

Stephen Leach (appointed 20 December 2021)

Company Secretary

Aideen D’Arcy (from 2 December 2021)

Management Team

Danny McQuillan (interim CEO from 20 November 2020; CEO from 18 October 2021)

Dr Gavin Adams (Director of Business Development)

Jonathan Carroll (Director of People and Organisational Development)

Pauline Flynn (Director of Finance and 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:

NI618684

Principal Solicitors:

Worthington Solicitors

24-38 Gordon Street Belfast BT1 2LG

Registered Office

Hydepark House

3 McKinney Road, Newtownabbey BT36 4PE

HMRC Charity No.:

NI00263

Charity Commission No.: NIC103226

Appendix 2) Extern Group Board of Trustees

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.

Gerard Campbell

Gerard is the Chief Executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, and previously led Colleges NI, the membership body representing the six Regional, Further and Higher Education Colleges in Northern Ireland. Before that, he was Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children & Young People. Prior to that, Gerard was the Director of Corporate Services with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council. Gerard is currently the Chair of two small charitable organisations in Antrim and was previously a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of the Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and a Board Member with Sport Northern Ireland. Gerard is also the independent Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee with the Commissioner for Older People in Northern Ireland.

Jim Daly

Jim is a self-employed business consultant from Clonakilty, Co Cork. Jim is a qualified teacher and former school principal who is currently completing his studies with the Institute of Directors to become a chartered Director. Jim spent 16 years working as a public representative and announced his intention to retire from politics in 2020 while serving as Minister for Mental Health & Older People. Jim has a keen interest in children’s welfare and education and recently completed studies at UCC in Trauma Informed Care. He is currently a non-executive Director of a number of private and not-for-profit boards as well as providing consultancy services to a wide range of businesses, especially in the health area.

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.

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.

Appendix 3) Financial Accounts

Statement of Financial Activities

For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

The company has no recognised gains and losses other than those included above and therefore no separate statement of total recognised gains and losses has been presented.

*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.

CONTACT US:

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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