A YOUNG people’s care and support service is singing the praises of Anton Rotary Club after the group provided a new music facility.

The Little Junction, in Junction Road, welcomed representatives from the club on Friday last week for the official unveiling of a new music room in the venue’s back garden.

The new room will enable the facility to once again run its group music sessions — something it has been unable to do since the closure of its former site at the Junction in 2017.

Speaking after Friday’s unveiling, Charles Taylor, senior foyer worker at the Little Junction, said: “They have given us way more than they normally do for a charity. We are very lucky.”

The Little Junction, run by Alabaré Christian Care and Support, offers accommodation for 27 young people with medium-to-high support needs, as well as a drop-in service for young people in the area.

The facility had previously operated group music therapy sessions from its former site at the Junction.

But it was forced to relocate to its current site after Hampshire County Council withdrew its funding in 2017.

The new location at the Little Junction had been too small to accommodate full group sessions, with practices taking place in one of the facility’s office rooms. Now, group sessions can once again take place, with space for a full band to use the new room provided by the Rotary Club.

Charles added: “Without their help we would still be mucking about in this room here. It’s given us a resource where we can sort of get back to what we were doing at the Junction.

“We can have proper group sessions which we were unable to do before.”

Charles says the music sessions enable many of the young people who use the Little Junction’s support service to express themselves in ways they otherwise would not be able to.

“Music is a very good tool,” he said.

“Some young people, you sit them down face-to-face and you are giving them counselling or anger management and they find that very hard. But when you are using music it is different.

“These youngsters will be ‘spitting bars’ and you’ll know their life story by the end. It’s a good way of expressing themselves.”

Anton Rotary Club first starting working with the Little Junction in early 2017, when it donated £2,000 to the centre. Since then members have installed new kitchen units and decorated the communal area in the accommodation part of the building, built a smoking shelter in the back garden, and have now provided the new music room.

Charles added: “When we opened it on Friday I just thanked them enormously. The amount of hours they have put in fundraising and just in terms of work hours is phenomenal.

“They’re just thoroughly nice people.”