The setting is grim. A dilapidated former bowling hut, badly in need of repair and with inadequate heating.

This unlikely building, however, has become a godsend to hundreds of children in the Currock and Upperby areas of Carlisle.

The ramshackle facilities are the home of The Rock, an upbeat youth initiative that takes its name from the local name for Currock.

It’s a much needed haven where manager Fiona Sheridan and her team of helpers, open their doors and their hearts to any child who needs them.

Around 300 youngsters a year pass through the doors of The Rock, seeking advice, companionship, camaraderie - and sometimes just a plate of hot food. Some of the kids seek just the offerings of an old fashioned youth club, the chance to play games and enjoy the pastimes of a traditional childhood.

Others are seeking refuge from homes where family life has broken down, sometimes as a result of the drug problems that fester in so many cities.

The Rock was started ten years ago by Alun Jones, the vicar at St Herbert’s Church, who identified a desperate need in the community shortly after he took up his post in Carlisle.

Alun remains a lynchpin of The Rock which is based on the Riverside Housing estate in Currock.

But it is Fiona, aged 36, who deals with the everyday running of this astonishing outfit.

Fiona says: “Despite being a professional youth worker, it is impossible not to get emotionally involved with the job. There are times when I’ve had sleepless nights worrying if I could have done more.”

Currock is the number two parish in the whole of Cumbria for reports of hate crime and number six for anti-social behaviour. It is in Cumbria’s top ten for statistics that monitor drugs and crime. “Every kid deserves self esteem and hope,” says Alun. It is Fiona’s job to try to deliver those needs.”

Fiona grew up imbued with the desire to help others. Her dad Alan Meyer is a church minister with St Paul’s Elim Church in Carlisle. “From the earliest age, I was aware of other people’s needs,” she says. Fiona and her husband Adam have two sons, Thomas, aged 10 and Nathaniel, eight. Five years ago, she took a job as maternity cover at The Rock and is now its manager.

Every single day is a challenge; presenting different issues for different age groups. The Rock divides into sessions which cater for seven to 11 year olds and for those aged 11 to 18. Fiona says: “We have linked up with St Margaret Mary’s Church to provide dinners in the holidays for kids who are eligible for free school meals but if any child comes to us hungry at any time, we try to rustle up something for them to eat.”

Fiona and her team of five do their best to thwart anti-social behaviour, offering emotional support as well as practical advice. “Some children have to learn that throwing stones at windows or eggs at cars is not fun. It produces victims and is incredibly intimidating for the elderly. We try to offer positive things to do, to show them an alternative way of behaving,” she says. All of this in cold, draughty facilities which Fiona describes as

“not fit for purpose.” Not surprisingly, The Rock tends to be busiest in the warmer summer months.

It is in the summer too that The Rock offers confidence building trips.

Fiona says: “In the summer, we get the kids to play football and rounders on our doorstep but one of the best things we do is to take the kids into the Lakes where we go ghyll scrambling or canoeing.

“Many of the kids have barely been out of Carlisle before and it is wonderful to see confidence grow when they take part in outdoor activities. We can turn to them and say look how scared you were and what you managed to achieve.”

The older kids are taught how to cook and how to manage budgets. Most have precious little money so The Rock occasionally offers cinema trips or visits to a bowling alley; the sort of treats so many youngsters take for granted. A trip to Newcastle’s Life Centre was thrilling for many who had never before travelled by train.

Success stories are treasured by the team. One of their volunteer helpers originally went to the Rock as a primary age child with intense anger issues.

Today, he is a stalwart of the organisation, helping others.

The big problem, of course, is the continual battle for funding. It costs £75,000 a year to run The Rock.

But Fiona is hoping that 2020 will be the year that The Rock manages to raise the £180,000 required for a new home for The Rock.

A number of events are being planned.

This is the year that The Rock is hoping to build facilities, as well as hope.