From Lost for Over Two Years to Improving His Own Community: Cameron’s Journey Through Boss Your Future

Posted on: 10 August 2026 | 15 min

What Can Change in Eight Months When Somebody Is Given an Opportunity?

On Friday 7 August 2026, Genuine Futures joined Be One Homes, Squosh IT, Backup North West and Bolton Lads & Girls Club for the launch of Be One Homes’ targeted 12-month community engagement and safety project at Thornbank Estate in Deane, Bolton.

There was plenty happening.

Residents were meeting organisations. Be One Homes was explaining what the next 12 months would look like. Community partners were coming together. And Clean Futures – our external cleaning service powered by purpose, delivered by Genuine Futures in partnership with Squosh IT – was already getting to work on the estate’s bin stores.

But for Genuine Futures, another story brought everything together.

Standing there, helping to improve the community, was Cameron Hughes.

Cameron is a Be One Homes tenant.

Eight months ago, he was referred by the Be One Homes Employment Team to Boss Your Future, our flagship programme.

Before that referral, Cameron says he had spent more than two years feeling lost, unsure about where he was going or what came next.

Today, Cameron volunteers one day every week with Squosh IT, is developing real workplace skills, carrying out Bin Store Health & Safety Audits and getting involved with Clean Futures.

His journey isn’t finished.

But it demonstrates something we believe passionately at Genuine Futures:

Potential doesn’t disappear because somebody has become disconnected from employment or education.

Sometimes the bridge to opportunity simply hasn’t been built yet.

Lost for More Than Two Years

When we talk about youth unemployment in Bolton, NEET young people or economic inactivity, it is easy to talk about numbers.

But behind every statistic is a person.

Young people rarely become disconnected overnight.

Something doesn’t work out.

An application is rejected.

A course isn’t right for them.

Confidence begins to fall.

Routine disappears.

Weeks become months.

Months can become years.

Eventually, somebody who once had ambitions can struggle to see their next step.

For Cameron, that period lasted more than two years.

Then the Be One Homes Employment Team made a referral.

On paper, a referral can look like a small intervention.

For Cameron, it opened a door.

Boss Your Future: Starting With the Young Person

Eight months ago, Cameron joined Boss Your Future, the flagship programme developed by Genuine Futures.

Boss Your Future is built around a simple principle:

Start with the young person, not the label.

We don’t begin by asking:

“What’s wrong with you?”

We want to understand:

Who are you?

What interests you?

What are you good at?

What have you experienced?

What would you like to try?

What is getting in your way?

And what opportunities could help you move forward?

That distinction matters.

Our job isn’t to define young people by the barriers they have experienced.

Our job is to help them recognise their strengths and connect them with relationships, experiences and opportunities that can help them build what comes next.

The First Step Isn’t Always a Job

Employment matters.

We want young people progressing towards sustainable employment, enterprise, education and training.

But if somebody has spent two years feeling disconnected, expecting them to immediately jump into full-time employment can ignore the steps needed to make that employment sustainable.

Sometimes progress starts with something much simpler.

Getting out of the house.

Having somewhere to go.

Turning up.

Meeting people.

Building trust.

Developing routine.

Trying something new.

Being given responsibility.

Discovering you’re capable of something.

Knowing somebody expects you tomorrow.

Then you build from there.

That’s why trusted relationships sit at the heart of Genuine Futures.

Eight Months Later: Look at Cameron Now

Cameron’s journey has developed significantly over the past eight months.

Today, he volunteers one day every week with Squosh IT.

That gives him something incredibly important:

real workplace experience.

He’s developing skills around:

Punctuality and routine
Communication
Teamwork
Taking responsibility
Following instructions
Problem-solving
Customer expectations
Professional standards
Health and safety
Completing tasks properly

These might sound like everyday workplace expectations to somebody who has been employed for years.

But how does a young person develop those skills if nobody gives them their first opportunity?

That’s one of the gaps we’re trying to bridge.

From Boss Your Future to Clean Futures

Cameron has also become increasingly involved with Clean Futures.

Clean Futures is an external cleaning service powered by purpose – created by Genuine Futures in partnership with Squosh IT.

It provides professional external cleaning and environmental services while creating opportunities for young people to gain practical experience and develop essential workplace skills.

Cameron has been helping with Bin Store Health & Safety Audits, visiting sites, inspecting bin stores and communal areas and learning how to identify and report environmental and potential health and safety concerns.

That journey has now brought Cameron back to Be One Homes.

The housing provider whose Employment Team referred him to Genuine Futures eight months ago is now seeing him contributing towards improving communities.

Think about that progression:

Be One Homes referral → Boss Your Future → trusted relationship → confidence and routine → volunteering with Squosh IT → workplace skills → Bin Store Health & Safety Audits → Clean Futures → community impact.

That’s what we mean by:

Bridging the gap to opportunity.

Cameron Hughes: “I Didn’t Know Where I Was Going”

Reflecting on his journey, Cameron said:

“Before Genuine Futures, I’d been lost for over two years. I didn’t really know what I was doing or where I was going.”

He continued:

“I was referred to Boss Your Future through the Be One Homes Employment Team. Since then I’ve had opportunities to get involved, try different things and actually do something practical.”

His weekly volunteering with Squosh IT has become an important part of that progression.

“I now volunteer one day a week at Squosh IT, which is giving me real workplace experience and helping me learn new skills.”

Cameron added:

“I’m building my confidence and getting experience that I can take forward. Eight months ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be doing what I’m doing now.”

Thornbank: Listening to Residents and Taking Action

Cameron’s journey was only one part of what made the launch at Thornbank Estate in Deane important.

Be One Homes is beginning a targeted 12-month community engagement and safety project, establishing a visible presence in the community and listening directly to residents.

At the launch, Millie Stanworth, Community Engagement Officer at Be One Homes, explained that the approach has already been used in Great Lever and Farnworth.

For Thornbank, Be One Homes aims to maintain a staff presence five days a week.

Residents will be able to raise concerns directly, including repairs, and access support through Be One Homes’ UCAN service.

Surveys and conversations with residents will help identify concerns, priorities and what people want to see happen over the next year.

One comment from Millie particularly resonated with us:

“By having staff in the area, it keeps us accountable as an organisation as well.”

That word matters.

Accountability.

Community Engagement Must Lead to Action

Meaningful community engagement in Bolton shouldn’t simply involve asking residents what they think.

Residents need to know:

Who is listening?

What has been heard?

What happens next?

What has changed?

And:

Who is accountable?

Residents understand their neighbourhoods in ways organisations cannot from behind a desk.

They know where problems repeatedly occur.

They know where fly-tipping happens.

They know which communal spaces need attention.

They know what families experience.

They know what their children and young people face.

And they know what could make their community stronger.

That’s why we believe the next 12 months should follow a straightforward approach:

LISTEN → IDENTIFY → ACT → REVIEW → IMPROVE

Not every issue can be solved immediately.

But people deserve to know they’ve been heard and understand what happens next.

Clean Futures Gets to Work at Thornbank

For Clean Futures, listening was accompanied by practical action.

Before the launch, Cameron and the team visited the estate to assess several bin stores and understand what would be needed.

They then returned to begin cleaning them.

Cameron explained:

“We came out to see what we’d need for it, and then today we’ve come out to clean them.”

It’s a simple statement.

But behind it is something important.

Eight months after being referred for support, Cameron isn’t standing on the sidelines.

He’s contributing.

Sam Smith: “The Potential Was Always There”

For Sam Smith, Founder and Co-Director of Genuine Futures CIC, Cameron’s journey demonstrates why prevention, trusted relationships and practical opportunities need to work together.

Sam said:

“Cameron had been lost for more than two years. Eight months ago, the Be One Homes Employment Team referred him to our flagship Boss Your Future programme. Today he’s volunteering every week with Squosh IT, carrying out bin store audits and helping Clean Futures improve communities.”

But Sam believes it is important that organisations don’t claim credit for something that already existed within the young person.

“We didn’t put the potential into Cameron. The potential was always there. What changed was that organisations worked together and opportunities started being created around him.”

“That’s why trusted relationships matter. That’s why practical work experience matters. And that’s why partnership matters.”

For Sam, Cameron’s story also raises a wider question about youth employment.

“We keep telling young people they need experience before they can get a job. But how do they get experience when nobody gives them that first opportunity?”

“We don’t need to keep moving young people from programme to programme. We need pathways from engagement into experience, skills, training, enterprise and ultimately paid employment.”

“Boss Your Future isn’t the destination. It’s the bridge to what comes next.”

Mike Alleyne: “Progress Isn’t Always a Straight Line”

Mike Alleyne, Co-Director of Genuine Futures CIC, believes Cameron’s progression also demonstrates why consistency matters when working alongside young people who have been disconnected for significant periods.

Mike said:

“When a young person has been disconnected for a long time, you can’t expect everything to change because they’ve attended one programme or had one good week. Progress isn’t always a straight line.”

“What matters is that you keep showing up, you keep the relationship going and you create opportunities where that young person can start taking responsibility for their own next step.”

For Mike, some of the changes that might look small from the outside can actually be significant.

“Turning up consistently matters. Being expected somewhere matters. Someone trusting you with responsibility matters. Learning how to communicate in a workplace matters. Those are the foundations that can eventually make employment sustainable.”

And importantly:

“Cameron is doing the work himself. We’re not doing it for him. Our role is to create the right environment around him, challenge him when he needs challenging, support him when he needs support and keep opening doors.”

Mike added:

“The goal isn’t for Cameron to remain on a programme or volunteer indefinitely. The goal is progression – towards paid employment, education, training, enterprise and greater independence.”

Squosh IT: Businesses Can Open the First Door

That progression requires employers and businesses prepared to participate.

This is where Squosh IT has become an important partner.

Cameron’s one-day-a-week volunteering gives him somewhere to practise workplace skills in a real environment.

Eric McBean, Founder of Squosh IT, said:

“Cameron volunteers with us one day a week, and we’ve been able to watch his confidence and understanding develop through actually getting involved.”

“He’s learning about turning up, communicating, taking responsibility, assessing sites and understanding what a professional service looks like.”

Eric believes businesses can play a much bigger role in creating first opportunities.

“Young people need businesses that are prepared to open that first door. Sometimes somebody just needs the opportunity to show you what they can do.”

“Cameron is becoming part of the team, and we’re proud to work alongside Genuine Futures and Clean Futures to help create that pathway.”

From Trusted Relationship to Real Opportunity

The perspectives of Cameron, Sam, Mike and Eric demonstrate how the Genuine Futures approach works.

Prevention needs relationships.

Relationships need consistency.

Consistency helps rebuild confidence.

Confidence makes new experiences possible.

Experience develops skills.

Skills create pathways towards opportunity.

But no single organisation needs to do everything.

That’s where partnership becomes critical.

Social Value Should Create Real Opportunities

Cameron’s journey also demonstrates why we need to think differently about social value.

Housing providers, councils, NHS organisations and other public-sector organisations spend significant amounts purchasing goods and services.

Those contracts must deliver quality and value for money.

But where appropriate, could some of that spending also create opportunities for the people living within those communities?

Clean Futures demonstrates one potential model.

An organisation needs professional external cleaning.

Clean Futures provides the service.

Alongside that commercial delivery, suitable contracts can create opportunities for young people to gain workplace experience and develop transferable skills.

That is where procurement can potentially become part of prevention.

One Contract. Two Outcomes.

Our Clean Futures proposition is straightforward.

One Contract

A professional external cleaning service.

Two Outcomes

Cleaner, better-maintained environments.

Real opportunities for young people to develop skills and progress towards employment.

This isn’t about asking organisations to accept a lesser service because there is a social purpose attached.

The service must stand on its own commercially.

The social value is the additional benefit.

That’s an important distinction.

Prevention Before Crisis

At Genuine Futures, we believe prevention is more effective than crisis intervention.

Too often, significant resources arrive after somebody’s situation has already deteriorated.

What if we invested more effort earlier?

What if a young person who had been sitting at home for months had somewhere meaningful to go?

What if somebody noticed when confidence started disappearing?

What if businesses created more accessible first experiences?

What if procurement created pathways?

What if housing providers connected their employment teams with opportunities being generated through their own supply chains and commissioned services?

Sometimes prevention starts with something incredibly simple.

Somewhere to go.

Someone expecting you.

A trusted relationship.

A practical task.

A reason to get out of the house.

Someone saying:

“Come and have a go.”

Then another opportunity.

And another.

The Programme Isn’t the Outcome

Cameron’s story also challenges how we measure success.

Success isn’t simply:

“Cameron attended Boss Your Future.”

That’s an output.

The questions that matter are:

Is Cameron more confident?

Is he turning up consistently?

Is he developing routine?

Is he gaining workplace experience?

Is he developing transferable skills?

Is he taking responsibility?

Is he building relationships with employers?

Is he contributing to his community?

And ultimately:

Is he moving closer to sustainable employment, education, training or enterprise?

That’s progression.

Cameron’s weekly volunteering with Squosh IT is an important stepping stone.

But volunteering isn’t where we want his journey to end.

The next bridge needs to lead towards sustainable paid opportunity.

Could Housing Providers Create More Pathways Like This?

Cameron’s journey raises an important question for the housing sector.

Housing providers often have employment teams supporting residents.

At the same time, other departments are commissioning services including:

Cleaning.

Grounds maintenance.

Repairs.

Construction.

Facilities management.

Environmental services.

Security.

Could those two sides be connected more effectively?

Could residents gain supported experience through contracts already being commissioned?

Could suppliers create more genuine entry-level opportunities?

Could social-value outcomes be connected directly to individual progression?

Could local residents become part of improving the communities where they live?

Imagine the pathway:

Housing referral → trusted community support → practical experience → employer engagement → skills → paid opportunity.

That potentially connects:

Housing + employment + procurement + social value + prevention + community regeneration.

We believe that’s worth exploring.

The Genuine Futures Model

The pathway we’re developing is increasingly clear.

LISTEN

Understand the young person.

ENGAGE

Build a trusted relationship.

EXPERIENCE

Create accessible opportunities to try something.

DEVELOP

Build confidence, routine and essential skills.

CONNECT

Introduce employers, businesses, education and training.

PROGRESS

Move towards employment, enterprise, education or another sustainable positive destination.

And importantly:

Stay alongside the young person for the journey.

Partnership in Action

Look at the organisations involved in Cameron’s journey.

Be One Homes made the referral and is investing in resident engagement.

Genuine Futures created the trusted relationship and Boss Your Future pathway.

Squosh IT created regular workplace experience.

Clean Futures created practical opportunities to contribute within communities.

Backup North West and Bolton Lads & Girls Club joined the wider Thornbank launch alongside other community partners.

Different organisations.

Different strengths.

One young person’s pathway becoming stronger because those pieces started connecting.

And Cameron?

Cameron chose to turn up.

That’s important.

Cameron’s achievements belong to Cameron.

Our collective responsibility is to make sure there are doors available for him – and other young people – to walk through.

Eight Months Down. What Could the Next Eight Months Bring?

Eight months ago, Cameron had already spent more than two years feeling lost.

Today he’s:

✓ Volunteering one day every week with Squosh IT

✓ Developing real workplace skills

✓ Building confidence and routine

✓ Carrying out Bin Store Health & Safety Audits

✓ Supporting Clean Futures

✓ Contributing to cleaner communities

✓ Building relationships with businesses and partners

✓ Moving closer towards his next opportunity

That’s progress.

But we’re not finished.

The ambition now must be progression towards sustainable paid opportunity.

Imagine where Cameron could be eight months from now.

Then ask the bigger question:

How many more young people could progress if somebody opened that first door?

The Next 12 Months at Thornbank

The Be One Homes launch marks the beginning, not the end.

Over the next 12 months, residents will have opportunities to tell Be One Homes what matters to them.

For Genuine Futures, we want to see young people and residents involved in those conversations.

We want to listen.

We want to contribute.

We want to help create opportunities.

And through Clean Futures, we want to demonstrate that improving physical environments can also create social and economic value.

Because cleaner communities and brighter futures don’t have to be separate ambitions.

They can reinforce each other.

Thank You to Our Partners and the Thornbank Community

We would like to thank Be One Homes, Squosh IT, Backup North West and Bolton Lads & Girls Club, alongside residents, staff, volunteers and everyone involved in launching the Thornbank project.

Partnership isn’t about putting several logos on a poster.

It’s about organisations bringing different strengths to the table and creating something none of us could achieve alone.

That’s what we want the next 12 months to demonstrate.

Help Us Create the Next Opportunity

We’re looking for organisations that want to do more than talk about opportunity.

We want partners prepared to help create it.

If you’re a housing provider, employer, local authority, NHS organisation, school, college, funder, business or community organisation, there are several ways to get involved.

Refer a Young Person

Connect a young person who could benefit from trusted relationships, practical experiences and progression support through Boss Your Future.

Create a Work Opportunity

Offer a workplace visit, Try a Trade experience, mentoring opportunity, work placement, apprenticeship, entry-level role or paid employment opportunity.

Commission With Purpose

If your organisation requires external cleaning or environmental services, consider Clean Futures – External Cleaning. Powered by Purpose.

Your organisation receives the professional service it needs while suitable contracts can help create practical experience and social value.

Sponsor an Opportunity

Help fund practical experiences, equipment, training, qualifications and progression opportunities for young people.

Become a Strategic Partner

Work with Genuine Futures to build stronger pathways connecting young people with employment, enterprise, education and community.

Bridging the Gap to Opportunity

Cameron’s story started with a referral.

Then came a conversation.

A relationship.

An opportunity.

Another opportunity.