A note to council leaders and commissioners who are tired of watching good programmes miss the people who need them most.
 
Let us guess: you have got targets to hit, budgets to stretch, and an inbox full of providers promising they can get the "hard to reach" into work. You have seen the PowerPoints. You have sat through the tender pitches. You have signed off on programmes that look brilliant on paper — but somehow, the same people keep falling through the gaps.

The care leaver who ghosts every appointment. The long-term unemployed man in his fifties who has stopped believing anyone is actually listening. The young mum who wants to work but cannot navigate the system and is too proud to say she is drowning. The rough sleeper who is "engaged" with three services but still has no CV, no qualification, and no job.

You are not failing them. The system is. And the system is too slow, too siloed, and too focused on outputs over actual human beings.

That is where we come in.

We Are the Cherry Tree Foundation. We Catch the Ones the System Drops.

We are based in Chapeltown, Leeds, but we work with councils and organisations across the UK. And here is the truth we have learned after years of this work: the hardest to reach are not hard to reach because they do not want help. They are hard to reach because they have been let down too many times.

Our founder, Lutel James, put it simply: "Helping the hardest to reach but easiest to ignore." That is not a tagline we cooked up in a marketing meeting. That is the standard we hold ourselves to every single morning.

We do not do generic employability programmes. We do not herd people through one-size-fits-all workshops and tick a box when they sign the attendance sheet. We sit down with people. We listen. We figure out what is actually stopping them — whether it is confidence, childcare, literacy, trauma, or just the fact that nobody has ever properly explained what a CV should look like in 2026.

Then we build a path that works for them.

What We Actually Deliver (No Fluff)

When you commission the Cherry Tree Foundation, you are buying outcomes. But you are also buying peace of mind that your residents are being treated like people, not case numbers.

Here is what that looks like in practice:

• Vocational courses that lead to real, recognised qualifications. Not certificates that gather dust — qualifications that local employers actually ask for.
• Job search support that goes beyond pointing someone at a job board. Our team works alongside participants, helping them navigate applications, understand what employers want, and keep going after the inevitable rejections.
• CV coaching that turns a sparse work history into a compelling story. We do not gloss over gaps. We help people own their journey and present themselves with dignity.
• Work placements that give people a foot in the door and a reference they can be proud of. We work with employers who understand the mission and are willing to give someone a chance.
• Funded options for those who qualify, removing the financial barriers that stop people from even starting. When you commission us, we make sure cost is never the reason someone gets turned away.
   

Why Councils Commission Us

We know you are under pressure. The levelling-up agenda, social value requirements, adult education budgets, youth intervention funds — every pound has to show a return. We get it. We have worked with local authorities long enough to know that you need more than good intentions. You need results you can report.

Here is what we offer:

• We specialise in the people other programmes cannot keep. If you have a cohort that is not engaging with your current provision, send them to us. We have a track record of reaching individuals who have been written off as "not ready."
• We think in partnerships, not transactions. When you work with us, we become an extension of your team. We report transparently. We adapt to your local priorities. We speak your language — but we never lose sight of the human being at the centre of it.
• We deliver sustainable employment, not quick wins. Our goal is not to get someone into a job for six weeks so we can claim an outcome. It is to get them into work they can keep, grow in, and build a life around. That is better for your residents, better for your local economy, and better for your long-term stats.
• We understand the communities we serve. We are not a faceless national provider parachuting in a template. We know what Chapeltown and similar communities face because we are part of them. That authenticity matters. People can smell it when you are not genuine — and it is usually the difference between engagement and another dropout.
   

Let Us Have a Real Conversation

We are not going to waste your time with a 40-slide deck. If you are a council leader, a commissioner, or an organisation looking to buy services that actually move the needle, we would love to talk.

We can start with a simple question: Who are the people in your area that nobody can seem to reach?

Give us the names. Give us the postcodes. Give us the ones who have been through three programmes and are still unemployed, still hopeless, still ignored. We will tell you honestly whether we can help — and if we can, we will show you exactly how.

No jargon. No overpromising. Just a straight conversation between people who care about getting this right.

Visit here to arrange a conversation with our team. Or drop us an email and tell us what you are struggling with. We read every message, and we reply fast — because if there is one thing we hate, it is leaving people hanging.

Your residents deserve more than another programme that looks good in a tender document. They deserve someone who will actually show up for them.

We are already showing up. Let us show up together.

The Cherry Tree Foundation, Inspiring people today to create a better tomorrow.