Local charity, Junction Elite, are looking for a home

Local charity Junction Elite are looking for somewhere to call home in the Battersea area.

Currently the charity holds sporting activities on Clapham Common but the littering and partying that occurs there make it unsafe and unhygienic.

Billy Oram, 23, director of youth football at Junction Elite, told Battersea Nub News: "We let them (the children) go from Clapham Common, as much as we think they go home, they don't but there's only so much control you can have."

Since its set up the charity has accumulated 400 children and young adults.

With their community expanding so quickly they are now looking for a larger space to occupy seven days a week, with indoor and outdoor space for sporting activities as well as smaller rooms to run homework clubs and areas for the children to just hang out.

Billy told us: "With football we're always instructing them but it would be nice to have a space where they can do their own thing, in their own time and we just make sure they're behaving."

Founded in 2018, the charity provides activities to under privileged children and young adults.

Billy said: "What is there in Battersea? When you look around, where is there for a child to where they can be safe and relax or take part in sport?

"I've counted maybe three youth clubs in the Battersea area.

"We want somewhere where a kid can sit for four hours and give mum and dad a rest.

"What is there in Battersea that can occupy a child?"

Set up by Aaron Stocker and Dean Brooke, the charity was originally an adult football team to help keep people off the streets in a fight against knife and gun crime.

The club is now predominately staffed by volunteers and funding was originally generated by the volunteer's own money or payments from parents who could afford to do so, last year it became a registered charity.

At £20.00 a month a child will get to partake in three sporting activities a week and support seven days a week.

Billy was delayed speaking to us because he was helping a family move out of their home, anything a family might need Junction Elite will help where they can.

The charity has set up two fundraising pages, one to raise money for the building they hope to obtain and to support the families of the children.

A second is to fund the cleaning and landscaping they do for people who need help maintaining their homes.

Their main outreach is through local schools where they hold activity sessions and talks.

Junction Elite are hoping to obtain funding from local businesses to help them achieve their dream of opening a community space to run activities out of.

Billy told us: "Really we just need somewhere for them (the children) that will just be a safe space, whether that's an independent funder that comes in and helps us, or someone with some advice, really just a building that we could have."

If you know of a suitable space for the charity or anyone who might you can contact Billy Oram at [email protected] or call 07760881747.

You can find out more about Junction Elite's work here.