Ellie Zalick’s Friday Meet Ups for Liskeard’s quieter teens

Not every teenager wants to walk into a room and be expected to join in straight away. From this autumn, a new Friday evening group in Liskeard is built entirely around the ones who don’t.

A free weekly session for Year 10 to 13

Quiet Connections CIC will run a new series of free Meet Ups for young people at Liskeard Public Hall, starting on Friday 25 September and continuing weekly through to 4 December. Sessions run from 6.45pm to 8.45pm in the Wheal Phoenix Room, and are open to young people in Year Groups 10 to 13, aged 14 to 18.

The Meet Ups are aimed at teenagers who identify as quiet, introverted, shy or highly sensitive, or who experience social anxiety, giving them another way to meet people locally without any expectation to be outgoing or quick to join in.

Grown from a psychology student’s own research

The idea began with research carried out by Ellie while she was studying psychology. She surveyed quieter young people about their experiences at school, and used what they told her to help shape a community programme built around what quieter teenagers actually need, rather than a one-size-fits-all youth club format.

That work led to a pilot Meet Up held in Liskeard in June, which gave young people a chance to help shape what a regular session in the town could look like.

No icebreakers, no pressure to speak

The learnings from that pilot have fed into a flexible format for the autumn series. Rather than everyone being guided through the same workshop or activity, young people will have different options open to them and can decide for themselves how to spend their time.

They might choose something creative, write, play games, use the space simply to chat, or sit and colour alongside other people. Nobody is rushed. Teenagers are invited to take their time to settle in and get a feel for the group, with no awkward icebreakers and no pressure to speak in front of everyone.

Led by a Quiet Connector who grew up in Liskeard

The sessions will be led by Liskeard-based Quiet Connector Ellie Zalick. Ellie is a psychology graduate and SEN teaching assistant with experience working with children and young people in education and community settings. She grew up in Liskeard and has been running sessions for quieter adults and young people across South-East Cornwall for almost four years.

Ellie said:

“It’s important to me that quieter young people have a space where they can connect with like-minded people, somewhere they feel accepted for who they are and comfortable in their own quiet skin.

I think being a teenager can be a particularly difficult time to feel like you belong, especially when you feel different from the people around you. I know that, growing up, I often felt like I was on the outside looking in, like I didn’t quite fit.

I want quieter teenagers to know that there is a place for them here.”

Why Quiet Connections is doing this

Hayley Stanton, founder of Quiet Connections, said young people can be under a lot of pressure to speak up, join in quickly and appear confident. She said the group wants to offer another kind of social space, where quieter young people can get to know others and take part in ways that work for them.

Quiet Connections has worked with quieter young people in Cornwall since 2018, starting with individual coaching before developing family activities and young people’s Meet Ups. It also runs an established adult Meet Up in Liskeard.

A grant that makes it free

The autumn series has been made possible by a £1,016.47 grant from the Carew Pole Fund, administered by Cornwall Community Foundation, which means every session runs free of charge.

Meet Up details

• What: Quiet Connections Young People’s Meet Up
• Who: Young people in Year Group 10-13 (ages 14-18)
• When: Fridays, 25 September to 4 December, 6.45pm to 8.45pm
• Where: Wheal Phoenix Room, Liskeard Public Hall, 3-5 West St, Liskeard PL14 6BW
• Cost: Free

Young people, parents and carers can find out more on the Quiet Connections youth group page or by contacting [email protected].