Working together to end homelessness through employment

There is growing recognition of both youth unemployment and homelessness across the UK. NEON was created to help bridge this gap.

NEON (New Employment Opportunities Network) is Homewards’ place-based, business-led employment network connecting young people facing barriers to work with sustainable job opportunities. NEON’s model works by addressing three key areas:

Place-based: NEON recognises that different locations face different barriers and works to create sustainable, place-based pathways that connect young people with new employment opportunities.

Business-led: NEON helps businesses lead the way while unlocking and retaining new talent, creating resilient workforces and playing a direct role in preventing homelessness.

A network of the right support: NEON brings together local public services, community and voluntary organisations to help employers and young people access the support they need to thrive and make sustainable employment possible.

NEON is built on a simple belief: if someone can work, wants to work and is safe to work, they should have the opportunity to do so. Our ambition is to make supportive, sustained hiring of young people at risk of homelessness business as usual across the UK.

How you can get involved

Businesses have an important role to play in preventing homelessness. By opening up opportunities, recognising when people need support and connecting individuals to trusted local services, employers can help prevent challenges becoming crises while building stronger and more resilient workforces.

Employers, you can play a vital role by:

Offering permanent job opportunities (ideally entry-level), with support
Providing work experience or placements
Supporting mentoring, coaching or workplace visits
Sharing your expertise and helping shape local solutions

Even if you are not ready to hire, there are meaningful ways to contribute.

Employability partners, charities and public sector organisations you can:

Join NEON as a local partner
Support individuals to become job-ready
Help provide wraparound support that enables long-term success

Northern Ireland

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What is NEON?

As a business-led, place-based network, NEON brings together employers, public services and community organisations to prevent homelessness through employment. Each local network is designed around local challenges, opportunities and support services, recognising that the barriers people face vary from place to place.

Each organisation plays a different role. Employers create opportunities, community organisations provide tailored support, public services help address practical barriers and NEON connects these partners around individual pathways into work. Together they create the conditions for sustainable employment and long-term stability.

NEON will work to strengthen ways into work, provide strong wraparound support leading to and during early employment and improve sustainability of job opportunities for young people (aged 16-25) who are at risk or experiencing homelessness.

Why employment matters?

Employment creates more than income. It can provide purpose, confidence, routine, connection and belonging, all of which help build stable and fulfilling lives.

Yet too often, people at risk of homelessness face invisible barriers that prevent them from accessing or sustaining work.

NEON exists to help remove those barriers, through collaboration to create sustainable opportunities that support young people to enter and remain in work, while helping businesses access and retain talent.

How NEON works

NEON is a practical, locally-led way of connecting people to jobs and supporting them to succeed.

In each location, NEON will:

Bring employers together to open up inclusive, sustainable job opportunities
Connect businesses with trusted organisations who prepare and support candidates
Match individuals to appropriate roles based on readiness, skills and support needs
Provide ongoing support to employers and employees, helping address challenges early and preventing difficulties from escalating into crises

This collaborative approach helps ensure that opportunities are not just created but sustained over time.