About us What we do & who we help What we do 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 The Extern DifferenceWe 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)1 563 9402 Read more about the life-changing help we offer, below. CLARE'S STORY: A NEW BEGINNING "For anyone facing the same challenges as me, I would just say to them that I have been in their shoes, that I have been through the Reach Out programme and it really works, and that it has genuinely helped me.” ANNE-MARIE'S STORY: NEW HORIZONS "My special memory is coming to the Extern bungalow, where the project is based, and meeting the girls from all over the county."