PJ's Community Services
PJ’s Community Services, based in Croydon, describes its overall mission as “adding value” to the community.
The organisation, known as PJ’s, was founded in 1992 with a Prince’s Trust grant, initially offering a home-shopping service for elderly, housebound people. Gradually PJ’s, which is a Social Enterprise UK member, has grown into a community hub, working not just in care services but also youth, education, business and the arts.
After steady growth in the 1990s, during which it became a trusted partner for the delivery of Croydon’s social services, PJ’s reached a turning point in 2001. It had the opportunity to buy a large, derelict building, with the idea of renovating it into a usable space.
Care services are still a major part of its work, but it does much more, particularly in education. The refurbished building houses meeting rooms, recording studios, and a 36-place, Ofsted approved day nursery for children aged three months to five years.
Through its delivery of services to the local authority, hiring out facilities such as the meeting rooms and the recording studios, and the provision of business support services, PJ’s generates income which it puts back into community projects.
One of the most important of these is the ACE Academy, which works with young people who are having trouble settling into statutory education. It tries to get to the bottom of whatever problems they might be having, and works to get them back into school. Separately, PJ’s also offers a whole range of specialised, tailored programmes for schools: these include one to help students make the transition to senior school, and another to give young people practical financial skills.
To date, PJ’s has created around 80 jobs in the local area and provides around 900 hours of care services per week. In 2008, it’s co-director, Claudine Reid, was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to the community.