our stories
This video, which was made for Junction 12's 10th anniversary, features some of our young people, past and present, discussing favourite memories of the project as well as how the project has impacted their lives.
Scott's Story
"I very strongly believe if it was not for Junction 12 Youth Project I would not be the person I am today."
I loved the project from the minute I was introduced. As a young person I attended everything the project offered and spent a lot of my time with the Junction 12 staff and volunteers. I even looked forward to camp months before the weekend/week camp was beginning.
I very strongly believe if it was not for Junction 12 Youth Project I would not be the person I am today. In the area I was brought up in, it was very easy to get in with the wrong crowd, make bad decisions & do things that would later be regretted. Being part of Junction 12 didn’t only introduce me to the Christian faith, it allowed me to be around Christians and I soon realised they lived their lives differently. I was amused by this and always admired them all.
When I was younger I found it very difficult to speak about any problems I was facing and every time I made a decision that was wrong, it was very easy to admit these to the Junction 12 team who, not only helped me, but advised and supported me in every area. They helped me to become who I am today. It may have been something as simple as taking me out for food or coffee but it really helps.
If Junction 12 didn’t exist I know I would not be the person I am today, I see people I used to be friends with when I was younger, these people are now taking drugs, abusing alcohol and making extremely bad life choices. Most of them don’t have a job and some have turned to a life of crime. This could have been me, but I was fortunate, I made a decision, I turned to junction 12 youth project.
Scott Leonard
Junction 12 volunteer
jo's Story
"Junction 12 has helped shaped me as a person and given me life skills that I value greatly and continue to use"
Growing up, I wasn’t involved with many Christian things. My mum wasn’t a Christian and so I’d never really heard about anything to do with Jesus or the Bible. My Gran was Christian and would take me along to church with her if I stayed with her and so through her I was introduced to the church, although I couldn’t understand much about it.
It wasn’t until I started high school, where I was introduced to Libby (my P7 teacher is Libby’s aunt) and Junction 12. I first started going to the J12 SU group because it was fun. We played games, I met new friends as no one else had come from my primary school and we got to eat snacks. We also studied the Bible but at that point in time I wasn’t so interested in that. It wasn’t until about 4th year where we started delving deeper into the Bible and during one of the week-long camps away I realised that being a Christian might actually mean something to me and so I started to read the Bible more and attend church.
When I turned 16, I started volunteering for J12 at SU Groups and camps as I wanted to give back and give other people the opportunities I’d got. I also got to take part in a training week which J12 helped me to find funding for and it enabled me to expand my skills with regards to leading and working with others in all ways. All this continued while I left school and started my first year at Strathclyde University studying Primary Teaching, and I’d say my experience with Junction 12 and volunteering with the young people definitely gave me good footing when applying for this course.
As the year went on I realised that my heart wasn’t in it and I wasn’t doing the best I could in this course but I didn’t have an idea of anything else I wanted to do. With Scripture Union and Urban Saints, I travelled to Rwanda on a mission trip for 3 weeks, and throughout this trip I was filled with joy and contentment which made me realise that mission work was something I could see myself doing. So, when I got home from Rwanda, I dropped out of Strathclyde and applied to do Practical Theology at the Nazarene Theological College. Currently, I am enjoying it very much and feel that it was definitely the right choice I could have made. But without Junction 12, I wouldn’t have gone through everything I had that led me up to this point and I definitely think Junction 12 has helped shaped me as a person and given me life skills that I value greatly and continue to use.
Jo Corrigan
Former J12 Young Person