Building Bridges: How Social Prescribing Supports NEET Youths

In the quiet corners of Trento, Italy, Daniela, a dedicated Link Worker, sits across from Marco, a 22-year-old who has been drifting through his days without direction. Marco represents an often-overlooked group—youths who are NEET, or Not in Education, Employment, or Training. Like many in his situation, Marco struggles with the emotional toll of being sidelined by the labor market. But today offers a glimmer of hope, as Daniela introduces him to a groundbreaking concept in public health—social prescribing.

The Isolation of NEET Status

Across Europe, the term NEET captures a growing concern about young people disconnected from education and employment pathways. While often seen as a homogeneous category, NEET status encapsulates diverse individual stories characterized by structural barriers and personal struggles, including mental health challenges, limited social networks, and a lack of self-confidence. This disengagement has far-reaching implications not only for the individuals but also for societal cohesion.

Policy strategies such as the Youth Guarantee have sought to tackle this issue, yet structural limitations and fragmented governance systems have often hindered progress. Enter social prescribing—a person-centered approach that addresses not just the employment outcomes but also the underlying social determinants of health.

Reimagining Engagement Through Social Prescribing

The study by Farina, Masella, and Bertotti sheds light on the C.O.P.E. (Capabilities, Opportunities, Places, and Engagement) project, trialed in Italy’s Autonomous Province of Trento. This initiative integrates social prescribing within community settings, aiming to build networks of trust and support that can gradually re-engage youths like Marco.

Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with 15 young individuals, capturing a wide spectrum of NEET experiences. The study sought to understand the role of social prescribing in easing NEET youth into the labor market, considering psychological readiness, trust-building, and the positive reinforcement of agency.

Key Findings: Trust and Agency Over Direct Employment

The study suggests that improving access is not only about offering services. It’s also about whether people trust those services, can reach them, and feel they were designed with their realities in mind.

While conventional interventions frequently emphasize rapid employment as a primary goal, this research highlights that social prescribing operates on a different timeline. Participants valued the relational aspect, particularly the role of the Link Worker, who bridges the gap between psychological support and practical employment guidance. These individuals foster an environment where young people feel heard, respected, and gradually ready to chart a path forward.

Importantly, the intervention was not directly about securing jobs but about creating readiness—psychosocial stabilization that can lead to meaningful re-engagement with education or employment opportunities. The emotional and psychological benefits, such as increased self-esteem and a renewed sense of direction, were prominent among participants. The value lay in setting the preconditions for engagement, rather than forcing immediate employment outcomes.

What This Means in Practice

• Public Health Leaders: Consider integrating social prescribing into broader employment services as a preemptive strategy to combat youth disengagement.
• Community Organizations: Build capacity for Link Workers who can provide the nuanced support needed to navigate both psychosocial and employment landscapes.
• Policymakers: Reframe success metrics to include psychosocial readiness and long-term engagement, rather than immediate job placement alone.

The Hard Part: Turning Evidence Into Action

Achieving the potential of social prescribing faces several hurdles. Governance systems often remain siloed, with fragmented services that fail to align health and labor market strategies. Political resistance, funding constraints, and varying degrees of community trust influence the successful implementation of these models. Additionally, the study’s qualitative design limits its generalizability, although it offers rich insights into the lived experiences of NEET youth.

Further research is required to explore long-term impacts, potentially using a mixed-methods approach to capture a diverse range of stakeholders’ perspectives, including those of the Link Workers themselves.

As we conclude, the findings of this study offer a hopeful blueprint for re-engaging young people who have been left behind. Social prescribing serves as a testament to the power of relationship-based support, illustrating that when youths like Marco are met where they are—with patience and understanding—the potential for meaningful change expands beyond immediate employment and toward sustained wellbeing.

Questions for Reflection

• How can your organization incorporate relational approaches into existing employment services?
• What role can trusted community figures play in bridging health and employment services?
• What changes are necessary in policy and funding to support integrated service models that prioritize psychosocial readiness?