Ms Eileen O'Brien:

It was carried out by Clarity consultants. It was completely independent. It was prior to us receiving funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund, before we built our workshop and the trustees purchased the house next door, and it was at a significant time in the development of the project. The cost does not come to mind straight away, but I remember her saying to us that it might not be cheap, but it was certainly effective. At the time, we only had space for six people.

We only had very small facilities. Since then we have expanded threefold, despite the downturn and reductions in funding.

What has kept us so focused is the model we are using, which underpins our success. Deputy McFadden asked a little while ago about the Servol model. Servol came from two words, "serve" and "all". It was pioneered in the West Indies by the Presentation Brothers, I think. There are three main components to the method. The first is attentive listening. Unless I truly listen to someone's experience, I cannot really respond. The second is a philosophy of ignorance. I do not know what it is like to put my head down in a prison cell or to be at the raw end of life, homeless, addicted and all that. I am ignorant about those experiences. The third is that I have to be really aware of my cultural arrogance. As a professional, I can come into any disadvantaged area and put myself on higher ground by saying I know the answer to your problems. It is such a subtle relationship and requires subtle judgement sometimes. When we meet the lads, we see them as other human beings. We do not judge them for what they have done. They are so used to being judged, they have their antennae up and out like stalks. They will know in a flash. It is non-verbal and that is how a lot of stuff is communicated. It is so important that we do not judge.

There also has to be respectful intervention. It is all about respect and acceptance, accepting where people are at and starting from there. The Servol model underpins the work. Even with the garden cafe, we could not run it like a commercial enterprise. It is a beautiful place but we have to keep the clients in the centre of the picture all the time - their needs, their journey. We are here to serve, and for us, it is a service to them rather than some sort of profit-making idea. If there is ego involved, we are on the wrong page. That might give a bigger understanding of the approach. Sometimes it is difficult to stay loyal to one's approach because one can be led in other directions with certain funding criteria and other influences. We have tried to stay loyal to the model.