The Junction is a safe, friendly, confidential centre which offers lots of health-related services, education and support for young people in Leith and North East Edinburgh aged 12-21.
We think it’s important to listen to young people and find out what they think and want. That’s why young people have been consulted from the start of the Junction and continue to be so today.
Here at the Junction, we are working to promote long-term prevention of health problems, to raise young people’s awareness and self-esteem and to enable them to make informed choices about their health and well-being. The aim support young people reach their full potential
Our Nested Provision model offers support and gives young people time to identify their own needs. It’s important that young people can access the right service at the right time for them. To ensure our service users feel supported to explore their options and make decisions, we offer a range of services – outlined below. When one kind of support or engagement concludes, young people can continue to use the project through our other services thus creating their own unique pathway appropriate to their individual needs.
Open Access Services: Referred to as Walk-In and Drop-In – young people can come during set times to get ad-hoc support and information
One to One Support: Structured regular support for young people to support them explore what is going on in their life. Initially 10 sessions are offered and this is reviewed at the mid-way point with young people, more or less sessions can be agreed depending on need.
Outreach Services: Taking our support to where young people are at – either at their school, on the street on in other youth projects.
Creative Express: One to One and Group work that focuses on using creative methods to explore wellbeing
Specialist Substance Use Services: One to One and School Education Sessions on all areas related to substance use – both for young people’s own use and for those whose parents use substances.
Group Work: In partnership with another organisations, we run a health and wellbeing group for young people from multi-cultural backgrounds.
Junction Youth Advisors (JYA): Our participation group where we listen to and consult young people and they also promote service provision to their peers. . The JYA meet monthly to identify and discuss current health issues relevant to their peers, create promotional materials and strategies to improve The Junction’s visibility in the community, as well as helping to shape the delivery of services.
Not only does this project enable the young people involved to affect change in their community, but it positively impacts the hundreds of young people who access The Junction’s services each year by increasing staff awareness of current issues, and their ability to respond appropriately to local health and wellbeing needs.
Specialised Young People’s Counselling: Therapeutic support for young people. Initially 20 sessions are offered and this is reviewed at the mid-way point with young people, more or less sessions can be agreed depending on need. We had to suspend this is service in December 2020 and have just started offering counselling again from March 2022 – due to a new funding stream.
