Teen Chill initiative in Mildenhall delivered by Abbeycroft Leisure celebrates one-year anniversary

A unique initiative for young people has celebrated its one-year anniversary in a Suffolk town.

Teen Chill, which is run by Abbeycroft Leisure in Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Brandon, has been taking place every Friday at the Jubilee Centre in Mildenhall since November 2023.

The venue is a safe space for young people aged 11 to 16 to get together and socialise, with a number of different activities available including dodgeball, arts, games and more.

Sessions from 7pm to 9pm are deliberately not structured with youngsters only needing to pay £1 to attend.

Town councillor Karolina Lemiesz, who has lived in Mildenhall for over a decade, said: “It’s been amazing to reach this milestone as we weren’t originally sure how well it would do.

“We’re very excited and proud of what we’ve achieved so far as well as the number of young people we have reached.

“We always try to do something fun and enlightening and it has been a great success for sure.

“We’re also thankful to Abbeycroft as we have been provided with good training and good support from them.”

She added: “I just hope we can keep growing and encourage more teenagers to join us and maybe start teaching some life skills at some point.”

Cllr Lemiesz, who is a cover supervisor at Mildenhall College Academy, is accompanied by trained youth worker, Debbie Prior, for Teen Chill sessions.

It regularly has 20 young people attend on a weekly basis and has even reached as high as 35 young people at points.

Charlie Potter, active communities manager at Abbeycroft, said: “As we celebrate our one-year anniversary of Teen Chill Mildenhall, we proudly reflect on the incredible journey of empowering and engaging youth in our community.

“With 96 young people engaged and an attendance of 898 visits, we've fostered a space for creativity, growth, safety and collaboration.

“By partnering with organisations and services such as the police and sports and art organisations that share our vision, we've been able to amplify opportunities and provide meaningful support for young people in our community.”

“We’d also like to thank our funding partners for Teen Chill at Mildenhall - Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore and Mildenhall Town Council."

Abbeycroft is also set to open another Teen Chill soon in Great Cornard, near Sudbury.