For more than 40 years we have been standing shoulder to shoulder with people as we support them to transform their lives, creating safer communities for us all.

Every day we strive for:

• Keeping children and their families together where possible
• An inclusive and fair society
• Reducing offending and the impact of offending on victims and the community
• People we work with are better equipped to make a contribution to their community
• People having somewhere to live

In the past year Extern...

• Supported over 20,000 young people, families and adults across our services in 2021
• In Extern Ireland, we provided 1,061 respite breaks to young people struggling in the home-lives
• We provided 11,339 hours of direct contact through our Early Years/Passport programme in the Western Trust area
• In the last year alone, 1,049 people attended awareness sessions run by our BDACTS Connections Drug and Alcohol programme
• 78% of young people who we supported through the Bail Supervision Scheme completed their treatment
• 391 placements were provided for young people at our Kinnahalla Youth Village
• Our Mid Ulster South Tyrone (MUST) homeless hostel recorded 95.4% occupancy levels
• Extern’s family support services provide a structure and routine to 890 young people through our Janus programmes
• We gave hope to 8,572 people living with severe alcohol dependency and drug use
• 22,474 new users accessed the Extern Problem Gambling website

The Extern Difference

We have two core beliefs we call The Extern Difference:

We Never Walk Away

Extern never walks away. We never give up. We believe in the power of the second, third, fourth chance and more. While some organisations operate a ‘three strikes’ policy which can see people moved to the back of the waiting list, Extern does the opposite.

We go the extra mile to be persistent. We will always go back because we know that a door will open when a person is ready, and we do that because we know that’s when lives can change.

We reach in. We don’t wait until people reach out.

In Extern we know when we meet people they can often be at their lowest and most vulnerable. They can be sad, afraid, angry and lonely, but in Extern we know we can give them hope.

When someone is unable to break out of the situation they find themselves in, we reach in and offer the supports they tell us they need. We pride ourselves in meeting people at their point of need, when they are ready.

Who we help

From families with newborn children right through to older people, every day we offer a unique continuum of specialist and dedicated services covering a wide range of areas:

• Young People and Families
• Housing and Homelessness
• Mental Health & Suicide
• Alcohol & Drugs
• Minority Communities
• Justice Services
• Skills/Employability

If you, or someone you know needs support in relation to any of these areas, please click on Our Services on our homepage or call +44(0)28 90 840555 or +353 (0)45 878720