Supporting young people to thrive

This week we launched the Croydon House Project – an innovative two-year pilot that will give our borough’s care-experienced young people the skills, confidence and support they need to grow into independent adults.

Designed with input from young people who have experience of care, the programme will help to provide stable housing, education, employment and training opportunities. I am proud that Croydon has joined the National House Project and look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on young people’s lives. Read more about the project.

Fairfield School of Business jobs fair

Continuing the theme of opportunities for young people one of our partners, Fairfield School of Business, hosted a jobs fair this week, connecting local people with employers and future career opportunities. Organisations including IKEA, BOXPARK, CBRE (Global Commercial Real Estate Services), Care UK, NatWest Bank were all there to showcase the range of roles available.

Diwali Mela

It was a pleasure to join residents at Croydon Diwali Mela in Braithwaite Hall, Croydon Town Hall. Diwali is a wonderful celebration of light, hope and togetherness, and it was great to see so many people come together to enjoy the festivities. My thanks go to everyone who helped organise such a vibrant and welcoming event. I wish all the Croydon Hindu community a very happy Diwali on 8 November.

Celebrating our community

Great to see Shirley Community Library and Hub becoming a real hive of activity at the heart of the local community, thanks to the fantastic work of Play Place Innov8 CIC and its volunteers. One of our four former libraries now operating as a community base, Shirley is a great example of why I wanted to retain these buildings for community use rather than sell them, whilst enabling our nine remaining libraries to open for longer, six days a week. I was also pleased to allocate £25,000 to each community base through the Pride in Place Impact Fund to support improvements, including new accessible toilets at Shirley.

Our wider library service is also seeing encouraging results, with visits up 6% and loans up 7% over the first six months of the financial year compared with the same period in 2025.

I was delighted to hear about the work of Mrs Burney’s Bee Club and Pamper Indulge Give, who are introducing Croydon’s children to the world of beekeeping, whilst helping them build confidence and practical skills. Their inspiring work is being showcased in an exhibition at the Museum of Croydon, which runs until Friday, 6 November. I would encourage residents to visit if they can.

Black History Month 2026

As Black History Month draws to a close, I would like to thank Croydon BME Forum and all our partner organisations and residents who have organised, supported and attended events on this year’s theme, ‘honouring our communities’. Last Saturday I was pleased to attend the Black History Month thanksgiving service at Croydon Minster, which brought people together to celebrate and reflect on the contributions or our black community.

Croydon has a rich and diverse heritage, and whilst this month provides an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of our Black communities, these stories and experiences should be recognised throughout the year.

Have a great weekend.

Jason Perry

Executive Mayor of Croydon