CARLISLE Youth Zone wouldn’t be the place it is without the people who make a difference.

Whether they are fulltime youth workers or a volunteer who gives an hour a week, they each contribute towards young people’s lives in a positive way.

Matt Williams, team leader, said: “We are in a position here without an agenda.

“Young people choose to come here. It is a safe place to come, their friends are here and I’d also like to think that it’s the way that we approach as a team.

“We heavily invest in them and we listen to them.We are very much on level terms with them and they can’t really surprise us with anything they say because we are so used to hearing it.

“It’s non judgemental. We say everything should be focused towards a conversation.

“We don’t give up on young people and I think that’s reflected in the fact that they keep coming back.”

The centre runs a number of activities and initiatives for members to engage in, including cooking classes, arts and sports as well as mentoring and careers programmes.

Emma Rogerson, development co-ordinator, is passionate about providing opportunities for young people and leads the Get A Future programme in partnership with Armstrong Watson.“It’s about investing in that young person, understanding them, what their interests are and where they are looking to go in the future and identifying what they need from you,” she said.

Arts co-ordinator Mark Gibbs wants to develop high arts provision so that it is on par with sport.

The arts programme includes everything from painting, drawing and making things to drama and theatre productions.

He said: “If you go to a youth club you expect sport but you might not expect a thriving arts programme and I think there definitely should be.”

The number of young people wanting to take up at activities is increasing and quite often Mark finds that he doesn’t know how he will fit everyone in.

“They don’t have to come along so if they do come you know they genuinely want to be here,” he said.

Lorraine Bearchell-Healy, mentoring coordinator, oversees the centre’s mentoring programme which offers one to one support for children and young people.

She enjoys to see young people growing in confidence and says it’s important to focus on the positives and set goals. “There is a lot going to this place. I love it here,” she said.

Many staff started out as volunteers, which are a valuable asset to the youth zone.

Youth workers and mentor Nathan Bagnall starting out as a volunteer while working towards a degree in film and TV production at the University of Cumbria.

He said: “It’s a rewarding job. There are times when even if it’s been a long day I can go away and if I’ve had a five minute conversation with one person who was having a bad day - the fact that they felt like they can confide in you and open up and explain the worries they’ve got - going home after that it’s such a buzz it’s such a high to be able to do that.”

Sam Bentley, 15, volunteers as a young leader at junior club and attends senior club as a member. He was seven when he joined junior club and would go two or three times a week.

“It was absolutely brilliant. I used to look forward to coming every week. I would spend all my pocket money here,” he said. “There have been so many opportunities and they’re all good. I’ve learnt loads of new stuff and junior club it was the most fun time of my life.”

Sam jumped at the chance to volunteer. “I love working with children. It has been so valuable and I have been able to decide what I want to do,” he said.