New addiction service for Derry and district

A three-year trauma, substance, recovery, and mental health project is set to launch across the city and district. 

The project will develop a peer support network through community collaboration to promote self-advocacy, develop knowledge, and support lifestyle changes for individuals, families, and communities.

The Freedom Project—Journey of Hope, is being delivered by Extern and funded through PeacePlus and the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), administered by Derry City and Strabane District Council.

The core focus of Journey of Hope will be on those affected by intergenerational trauma, a legacy of the Troubles that continues to impact our post-conflict society.

Tiernan Thornton, project manager for the Freedom Project, said: “The way we plan to run it will be through a six-week programme in different locations throughout the council area.

“By the end of a programme we will have hoped to have improved some of your addiction issues and also gotten a bit of peace and reconciliation out of it as well, interacting with people from the other side of the community that you may not have interacted with before and perhaps interacting with people from migrant communities you may not have done before.

“It is not just dealing with the person that has been through addiction, who has come out the other side hopefully, but also looking at the impact on friends, family, colleagues, and relationships; we are trying to address that as well.

“It will be open to anyone; it is self-referral. People who have had family members suffer or someone has needed help in the past and never wanted to talk about it. We can take anyone onto the programme. 

“As much as that one person needs support, their circle needs support as well.”

The charity Extern was established in Derry in 1985, and this project will offer support to 520 individuals in the local area, including young people, families, and individuals in mental health crises.

The Extern team will journey alongside people, supporting them with expert tools and resources to help build resilience to overcome the challenges faced and improve overall well-being.

Mr. Thornton said: “We have done the addictions programme in other parts of Northern Ireland, but this is the first time in Derry and Strabane. It has been done well in Ballymena, in the Southern Trust area in the Lurgan and Newry area, and also in Belfast.

“We are good at this work, and we realised there was a service like this missing in Derry.

“So people who have lived in certain communities for 20 or 30 years can feel they have a place in the community and somewhere to feel safe in it, and that comes through that education piece that we are trying to do, as through people understanding that everyone is different and has their own skills and abilities.

“We know there is a need for it, so we are going to use this Freedom Project to take our experience and put this into our programmes in terms of the mental health side of things, and it gives people the information in terms of understanding themselves in their community.”

A community development approach will form the basis of the project, which will be delivered in both urban and rural community settings to maximise reach.

This project involves raising awareness, developing, and delivering training and educational programmes on community-identified health and well-being concerns.

Mr. Thornton said: “A lot of people we have working within our service or Extern have had that lived experience; people who have dealt with addiction or mental health—no amount of education can provide that insight, and that ability to connect with people who are going through something similar.

“As much as people think that addiction and mental health are the issue, it is the thing that has broken the camel's back; it is not necessarily the main issue. 

“A lot of times people have other things going on, and then it just so happens that their mental health has suffered or they have used, whether it is alcohol, medication, or whatever, to mask how they are feeling, so it is going back to the root of the issue and trying to help them with that.

“The programmes being run may be more suitable for young mothers and another for older men, or a sports-related one, and we are finding this out through speaking to the communities, for where we are needed.”

The Freedom Project will constantly evolve over the three-year period as it is being run.

Extern will analyse and learn from feedback of their programmes to inform them about where problems are arising and then put themselves in the best position to deal with those situations, starting with the first programme. 

Mr Thornton said: “We are looking for the first programme to be up and running by Halloween, and some of them may work simultaneously, so we are reaching as many people as possible.

“Some of the programmes will be running in parallel. One may be in Derry and another in Strabane, on a Tuesday morning, while the other is on a Thursday morning.

“As well as those six-week programmes, which will be small groups of around 10, not classrooms full, we will also run large-scale community inclusion events potentially every six months where people can drop in for three or four hours to provide help and information for how they can battle their addiction.”

Extern CEO, Colin Hayburn, said “The Freedom Project—Journey of Hope is a significant milestone in the journey we are all on towards a better society where health and wellbeing are meshed into daily life. This new service, made possible through the PeacePlus funding, is a tremendous investment in community resilience and holds the promise of a brighter and better future for anyone who feels isolated and left behind by society.

“By integrating trauma-informed care with peer support, Extern will provide a comprehensive

approach to well-being and recovery that empowers individuals and strengthens families. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to making a real difference in the lives of those affected by trauma and mental health challenges.”

The Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council, Cllr. Lilian Seenoi-Barr, said: “I am delighted to see the launch of the Freedom Project ‘Journey of Hope’ in our Council area, where so many people have been impacted by the trauma of a prolonged period of conflict. This project will support and engage hundreds of local people struggling to deal with a range of issues and provide practical and positive approaches to promoting better health and wellbeing. Well done to the Extern team on launching this really valuable initiative.”

And a representative for SEUPB said: “The Freedom Project Journey of Hope will provide spaces for workshops, one-on-one support, and group meetings, with a strong emphasis on community collaboration and lived experience. This will help create long-lasting, positive change in the lives of individuals and families impacted by trauma, substance misuse, and struggles with mental health.”

For more information about the project, you can visit Freedom Project | Extern.