How Local Businesses Are Helping Tackle Homelessness in Northern Cities

When people talk about tackling homelessness, the conversation usually turns to housing, health services and the charities that work on the front line. All of those matter enormously. Yet across the cities of the North of England, another group is quietly playing a bigger part than many realise: local businesses. Cafés, kitchens, building firms, retailers and offices are discovering that the way they hire, train and spend can help someone move from crisis to stability, and keep them there.

This is not about charity in the traditional sense. The most effective approaches treat people who have experienced homelessness as what they are: potential colleagues with skills, resilience and a great deal to offer. What they often lack is a first opportunity, a little flexibility and someone willing to back them while they find their feet. Businesses are well placed to provide all three.

From Leeds to Sunderland, Manchester to Doncaster, a growing number of employers are showing what that looks like in practice. Their approaches vary, but they share a simple idea. A home gives someone somewhere to live. Work gives them a reason to get up in the morning, a routine, a network and the income to stay housed for the long term.

Why work sits at the heart of moving on

Homelessness is rarely caused by one thing. Relationship breakdown, debt, job loss, poor mental health, leaving care or the justice system, and the rising cost of renting can all play a part, often several at once. Getting someone into accommodation is a vital first step, but it doesn't solve the problems that led to the crisis. Without income, structure and connection, people can find themselves back where they started.

Work changes that. A regular wage makes rent manageable and reduces reliance on emergency support. Just as importantly, a job brings structure to the week and a sense of purpose that's hard to find elsewhere. Many people who have been through homelessness describe the loss of routine and identity as one of the hardest parts. Being part of a team, being trusted with responsibility and being thanked for a job well done can rebuild confidence in a way no support plan alone can.

The challenge is that conventional recruitment often screens out exactly the people who would benefit most. Gaps on a CV, the lack of a fixed address, no recent references or a single difficult year can see an application rejected long before an interview. That's where forward-thinking businesses are making a difference: not by lowering their standards, but by changing how they find and develop talent.

Kitchens, cafés and the power of learning on the job

Hospitality has become one of the most important routes into work for people rebuilding their lives, and it's easy to see why. Kitchens and cafés need reliable people who can learn quickly, work as part of a team and stay calm under pressure. Many roles need no formal qualifications to start, and the skills involved, from food preparation and hygiene to customer service and handling cash, transfer to a huge range of jobs. Better still, progress is visible. A trainee who starts by learning knife skills can be running a section within months.

Across the North, training kitchens and social enterprise cafés have built their entire model around this. Customers buy lunch, book catering or hire a venue, and the income pays for chefs and mentors who train people who have been homeless or marginalised. Trainees learn in a real working environment, serving paying customers, which builds a level of confidence that classroom training rarely matches. At The Create Foundation, this is exactly how our Create Academy works. Our catering, events and restaurant trade funds free, practical training in real kitchens.

What makes these programmes work is not just the cooking. It's the support wrapped around it: help with travel costs, work clothing provided, a hot meal on training days and a named mentor who understands that progress isn't always a straight line. When someone misses a day because of a housing appointment or a difficult week, the response is a phone call and a plan, not a dismissal. That patience costs relatively little and makes an enormous difference to whether people complete training and move on into lasting work.

Opening the door through fairer recruitment and purposeful buying

Not every business can run a training kitchen, but almost every business recruits. Some of the most meaningful change is happening in how employers fill their vacancies. A growing number now guarantee interviews to candidates referred by trusted support organisations, offer paid trial shifts instead of formal interviews, or accept references from training providers and mentors in place of a previous employer. These are small changes to process that can open doors that would otherwise stay firmly shut.

The employers who see the best results tend to plan for the first few months rather than just the first day. Starting on a wage paid weekly rather than monthly can help someone who has no savings to bridge the gap to a first payday. Flexibility around appointments, a buddy on the team and a clear point of contact if things go wrong all help people settle. Many businesses that have taken this approach report that the colleagues they recruit this way are among their most loyal and committed, often because they know how much the opportunity means.

Businesses can also make a difference through what they buy. Choosing a social enterprise to cater a meeting, supply office coffee, clean a building or deliver a contract puts money directly into organisations that train and employ people facing disadvantage. For larger firms, especially those bidding for public sector work, this increasingly forms part of their social value commitments. For a small business, it might simply mean booking event catering from a provider whose profits fund training places. Either way, ordinary spending becomes a lever for change without costing anything extra.

What this looks like across the North

Each of our cities has its own character, and the way local businesses engage reflects that. In Leeds, a strong independent food and drink scene has created natural partnerships between restaurants, cafés and training providers, with placements and trial shifts giving trainees experience in some of the city's busiest venues. A thriving events and conference calendar also means steady demand for catering and front-of-house staff, which is a useful entry point for people looking for flexible first roles.

Manchester's sheer scale brings a different kind of opportunity. With one of the UK's largest hospitality and visitor economies outside London, employers here are constantly recruiting. Many have recognised that partnerships with training organisations give them access to motivated, work-ready candidates while helping them meet their own commitments to the community. Corporate volunteering, mentoring schemes and sponsored training places are all becoming more common as businesses look for meaningful ways to contribute.

In Sunderland and Doncaster, the picture is often more about community. Local cafés, markets and independent businesses tend to know their neighbourhoods well and are often the first to notice when someone is struggling. Community kitchens, training cafés and outside catering projects have become important hubs, offering not just skills but a place to belong. Smaller employers may take on one or two trainees at a time, but in close-knit towns and cities that personal approach can be particularly powerful.

What unites all four is the recognition that tackling homelessness is not something that happens only in hostels and council offices. It happens in kitchens at seven in the morning, behind café counters at lunchtime and on the staff rotas of businesses willing to take a chance on someone. You can read more about the communities we work in on our Our cities page.

Where any business can start

For a business owner or manager who wants to help, the range of options can feel daunting, but the first step can be small. Reviewing a job advert to remove unnecessary requirements, such as asking for experience where none is really needed, can widen the pool of applicants overnight. Getting in touch with a local training provider or social enterprise to ask about placements or guaranteed interviews is another simple starting point. Many organisations, including ours, are happy to talk through what's involved and match businesses with candidates who are ready for work. Our employer partnership page explains how this works in practice.

Businesses that want to go further might offer a paid placement, sponsor a trainee's travel and kit, or encourage staff to volunteer as mentors. A couple of hours a month spent helping someone prepare for an interview or talking through their first weeks in a new job can be every bit as valuable as a financial donation. Others choose to review their supply chains and switch some everyday spending to social enterprises, which builds impact into the way the business already operates.

It's also worth remembering that the most valuable thing an employer can offer is often patience. People moving on from homelessness may still be juggling housing appointments, health needs or the after-effects of a very difficult period. A workplace that sets clear expectations while allowing some flexibility in the early weeks gives people the best chance of success. In return, businesses often gain colleagues who bring determination, loyalty and a fresh perspective to the team.

Homelessness is a complex challenge, and no single sector can solve it alone. But across the North of England, local businesses are proving that they have a genuine and practical part to play. By rethinking how they recruit, train and spend, they're helping people not only find a home, but build a future in it. If you know someone who could benefit from training and support into work, you can refer them to the Create Academy in just a few minutes.