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