Newsletter
News
Over 7,000 young people, families and adults living through rapidly evolving adverse social inequalities and challenging personal circumstances accessed Extern supports in 2024
Extern, a community and voluntary organisation founded in 1970s, working across the island of Ireland, laid out its strategic priorities for the next five years – Supporting People towards a Better Tomorrow. A strategy that will target the ever-increasing systemic social inequality, aiming to close opportunity gaps for individuals with lived experience of adversity, poverty and supporting neurodiverse populations.
Supporting People towards a Better Tomorrow, co-created with service users, commissioners and colleagues, is a significant step in addressing lack of opportunities and social inequalities. The ambitious strategy focuses on enhancing service provision while expanding outreach to young people affected by the criminal justice system, families and adults living in poverty and challenging circumstances that result in a complexity of needs, and intellectual disability and neurodiversity.
CEO Leslie Ann Scott emphasised the importance of having the right services to create meaningful change.
“Our 5-year strategy outlines our determination and commitment to work with those who require support in Ireland from the adversity they have experienced in their lives, whether that was from poverty, childhood trauma, displacement, loss of their home or because of societal marginalisation due to their ethnic or intellectual and neurological differences."
Adversity experiences can result in life-changing experiences, and as we are living in an ever-changing world, Extern’s services highlight the need for an inclusive, caring and compassionate society. Our new strategy has reinforced and refreshed the essence of Extern’s original foundations, placing people and service users at the heart of our work. We have set ambitious goals for the next 5 years and we are committed to working with our partners, commissioners and our communities to bring lasting positive change to ensure we create a stronger, empathetic and caring society to support those in most need of support.”
"We have set ambitious goals for the next 5 years and we are committed to working with our partners, commissioners and our communities to bring lasting positive change to ensure we create a stronger, empathetic and caring society to support those in most need of support.”
Aideen D’Arcy Extern Group Chair said, “We are proud to uphold the spirit of our founders and we are confident that our strategy will support Extern deliver its mission and respond effectively to future challenges and opportunities. Our strengthened governance structure reflects our deep commitment to transparency, accountability and excellence.
“I would also like on behalf of the board to thank all our commissioners and partners: the five Health and Social Care Trusts, the Public Health Agency, the Probation Board of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Prison Service for their financial input and steadfast commitment to working with our team to provide relevant and inclusive services so that our service users have a better tomorrow ”
Keynote speak MLA Ms Diane Forsythe, Assembly Party Group Chairperson of the All-Party Group on Voluntary and Community Sector said, “The Community and Voluntary sector in Northern Ireland play a critical role in delivering frontline public services and their value should be recognised, quantified and investment secured as part of public sector transformation.
Extern have been delivering important services in partnership with Northern Ireland government departments and agencies for 50 years, supporting people across employment, employment education and justice programmes and much more. Long term investment in these services is needed to continue on the evidenced delivery of positives outcomes and improving lives.”
Extern was founded in Belfast by volunteers with shared values from social work and probation backgrounds, led by a criminology lecturer, who seen the growing need to help improve the lives of young adults coming through the criminal justice system. Today Extern offers services across the island of Ireland and have delivered service provision in the Republic of Ireland since the 1990s. Extern runs over 100 services with a workforce including volunteers of some 600 and supported over 24,000 individuals, young people and families.
Link to strategy, here.