IT'S easy to take things for granted when most of us can return home from a day's work, sink into a comfy sofa and shut out the outside world.

But the reality of that outside world - even in a small town like Andover - contains a number of young people who are just starting out in life only to find themselves at rock bottom with no one to turn to.

And without the intervention of the Test Valley Foyer project, some of those 16 to 25-year-olds would be homeless.

The project provides a roof over the head of 18 Andover youngsters at a time through its Sarum House flats in Winchester Road.

Six move-on flats at Junction Road encourage independent living while adjacent information centre The Junction offers advice and guidance to 13 to 25-year-olds.

As Test Valley Foyer manager David Millward explains, all three buildings act as crutches for teenagers and young adults to lean on and build themselves back up.

He said: "They are all happy places - it's a fact of life that families break down and teenagers want to get out and seek independence."

The Junction centre principally helps disadvantaged youngsters find the motivation they need to study or job hunt.

Some of them may have been expelled from school and need help compiling a CV while others seek advice from centre support staff on anything from careers to sexual health.

Junction manager Andy Hunter said: "Andover has many social issues for young people and we look to fill that gap."

Just three years on from its launch, the combined strands of the Test Valley Foyer - part of the national Foyer Federation - have created some real success stories. Area operations manager Janet Herring said: "I was at a workshop recently and many of the youngsters said that without The Junction they couldn't go on.

For the full story see Friday's Andover Advertiser