Meeting needs of those on the edge

from Extern Northern Ireland Annual Report 2021-22

Providing inspiration across generations

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.

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.