Establishing a charity is never easy. But establishing a charity in 1980s Peckham, amid riots, criminality, and social degradation, is something else entirely.
Next month Pecan will celebrate its 35th anniversary. Since being founded in 1989, it has gone from a small employment-focused organisation, to arguably south London’s best-known charity. Today, Pecan runs the acclaimed Peckham Pantry, operates the Southwark Foodbank and has programmes supporting refugees, young people and the elderly.
In the late 1980s, the UK was still dragging itself from the depths of an economic recession. The official unemployment rate hit 11.9 per cent in 1984 and had fallen to 7 per cent by 1989. Recovery was slow – these were still the highest unemployment figures for half-a-century – and even slower in Peckham. The riots which spilled over from Brixton in 1985, sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black woman, compounded the bleak atmosphere.
By 1989, Peckham was gaining a Europe-wide reputation for all the wrong reasons. The crime-ridden North Peckham Estate had become synonymous with social decline. Neighbouring estates, linked to it by a network of concrete walkways, didn’t fare much better in the British imagination, worsened by its bleak portrayals in the media.
In 1987, an article in The Spectator informed readers that Peckham’s estates were ‘the Eighties equivalent of the Victorian slum culture’ where visitors encounter ‘defeated’ residents with ‘no hope, no ambition’ and the ’charred remains of rubbish set on fire by children’.
Peckham Evangelical Action Network (PECAN) was founded by six churches. The explicit aim was to tackle unemployment and by 2001, their Employment Preparation Course had trained over 4,000 people with 1,300 finding employment.
But Peckham wasn’t an easy place to thrive. In 1990, the charity established a laundrette on the Gloucester Grove Estate to employ local people. But fears over workers’ safety meant it closed just two years later.
In the mid-1990s, Pecan started expanding its programmes. Its English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course began, running for fourteen years, and tutoring over 3,000 people during that time.
In the late 1990s, Peckham underwent a £290 million regeneration. The notorious ‘Five Estates’ – North Peckham, Willowbrook, Gloucester Grove, Sumner and Camden – saw homes demolished and replaced. According to housing activists from The 35% Campaign, it caused a net loss of 1,184 social rent dwellings.
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But the period also saw artists move to the area, bringing new investment with them. Peckham’s reputation as a ‘no go’ area was being replaced with a distinct musical and artistic culture. As Peckham grew in stature, so did Pecan.
The charity won a South Thames Region Health Alliance award for its partnership with The Maudsley Hospital in tackling mental health. A computer literacy course would help 2,000 people keep up with the digital age and elderly people would benefit from ICT classes.
Today, Pecan is well-known for running Southwark Foodbank which gives referrals and food parcels to service users. This was first set up in 2010 as the Peckham Foodbank, recognising the increasing number of families in severe financial hardship.
Then in 2019, Peckham Pantry was established, a pioneering initiative offering discounted healthy food to locals at discounted prices. Its unique model has received national plaudits, hosted a celebrity chef and partnered with the Co-op.
Last month, Pecan announced Peter Edwards had been appointed as the new CEO, taking over from Chris Price.
Peter said: “Over 35 years Pecan has played a significant role in supporting Londoners facing challenges such as poverty, unemployment or loneliness as well as providing vital support for women affected by the criminal justice system.
“All this work is more important than ever due to the increases in the cost of living, immense resource pressure on local government and the erosion of some elements of the safety net for people experiencing hardship.”
According to a Southwark Council report, Peckham ward is still among the most deprived 30 per cent in the country. Nonetheless, the explosion of art and culture in the area means its depiction as an area with ‘no hope, no ambition’ no longer applies. It’s been an astonishing turnaround and one that Pecan can be proud of.
