Prince William is launching a five-year campaign with the aim of ending long-term homelessness in the UK, which he says should not exist in a ‘modern and progressive society’.
The Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation is putting £3m of start-up funding into the ‘Homewards’ initiative.
Prince William said: ‘It's a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated, and I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality.’
As part of the campaign, Prince William intends to bring together local coalitions of housing experts, charities and businesses to develop housing projects and support services.
Homewards will first focus on six UK towns and cities, which were selected by a national panel, where strategies to reduce homelessness will be tested.
On Monday and Tuesday (26 – 27 June) Prince William is taking a two-day tour of the UK to announce these locations.
The campaign’s intention is that findings from the six flagship locations can be used to create a framework for other areas in the UK.
According to a Kensington Palace spokesperson, Prince William plans to support Homewards by ‘shining a light on homelessness and working to break down the stigma around the subject and do what he can to help the locations involved in the project remain focused on prevention’.
Ahead of the launch, the prince has spoken to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.
Homewards has been backed by charities including Shelter, Centrepoint, Crisis, and The Passage.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, has said: ‘Homelessness needs to be treated as a national emergency. Tackling homelessness must become a key priority at a national level, with government departments working together – in addition to partners such as local councils – as effectively as possible.’
