Leith health and wellbeing charity The Junction hailed for 20 years of work with young people

The charity, based in Great Junction Street, offers health-related services, education and support for 12-21 year-olds and helped ,2800 young people last year alone.

Ms McNeill met organisers and heard about how valuable the service is to the local community in North East Edinburgh, in particular for offering friendly and confidential service to help improve overall wellbeing and enable young people to make informed choices about their lives.

Junction team lead Danni Szerszynska with Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill, Junction director Cara Spence and project worker Marnie Murray. | supplied

A significant number of The Junction’s service users come from the LGBT community and the centre recently achieved its Gold LGBT Charter award in collaboration with LGBT Youth Scotland.

After the visit, which fell during LGBT History Month, Ms McNeill said: “Organisations like The Junction are empowering the LGBTQ+ community locally and it’s amazing to see that, two decades after it first opened its doors, it’s going from strength to strength.

“The facility provides a welcoming safe space where young people can drop in for something as simple as a friendly cuppa, speak to trained sexual health worker, or to access one-to-one support with a youth worker or counsellor.

“They provide a vital service that’s informal but informative, and that’s what makes it so popular. As part of our Plan for Change, the UK Government is building a fairer country with equal opportunities for all. It’s heartening to see the brilliant work The Junction is doing to encourage a society free from discrimination where diversity is celebrated.”

Junction director Cara Spence said the charity had been delighted to welcome the minister to the centre. “She asked thoughtful questions about our services, the challenges we experience as a charity and young people’s mental health.

“We spoke about our approach to LGBTQ+ inclusion and gaining a Gold level LGBT Charter Award from LGBT Youth Scotland. LGBTQ+ rights are being threatened globally. It's important that organisations, including small community-based charities, stand firm in their commitment to inclusion.”