The organisation came into being in early 1996 as a practical response to the groundswell of reaction from ESOL tutors, voluntary organisations and church groups, concerning the Government’s draconian measures being proposed at the time regarding the withdrawal of benefits to asylum seekers. As a result this led to destitution for many.

It started with a pilot scheme of offering daytime provision once a week at the Copleston Centre in Peckham. This was funded initially for 3 months from the London Borough Grants Unit, the Church Welfare Association, the Servite Sisters and then for a year from the Church Urban Fund and the Trust for London. During this time an application was made to the National Lottery Charitable Board which agreed to fund 50% of the costs to open 2 more sites on one day a week.

We received Community Fund funding for 3 years and financial assistance from other charities and trusts to continue the work of the organisation.

Given that during 1998/9 the Elephant and Castle area housed very large numbers of asylum seekers from Albania and Kosovo it was seen as a priority to set up a centre in this area. The then new centre opened at the United Reformed Church ‘Crossway’ located in the New Kent Road in August 1999. This was quite a steep learning curve for us all, in terms of the numbers using the service and the varied needs, use of the building and the range of resources, volunteers and otherwise needed. There have been many changes since opening and most of the asylum seekers who use Crossway are from Africa and Middle Eastern countries.

In 2000 a third site opened in the central part of Peckham at the Peckham Settlement. Here we have identified the need to address the needs of isolated families living on large estates. Plans to set up play and learning initiatives for children under 5 and parents will go ahead in the near future.