Prince William Marks Homewards Anniversary With A Direct Message On Homelessness
Prince William is using the third anniversary of his Homewards campaign to deliver one of his clearest messages yet on homelessness in Britain: the crisis, he believes, should not be blamed on individuals, but understood as a failure of the wider system.
Prince William in the kitchen at London-based homelessness charity The Passage in 2024, he will say today that the issue can be solved once and for all
The future king will mark the third anniversary of his campaign to end homelessness with a series of public engagements today
The Prince of Wales is expected to mark the milestone with a series of public engagements, highlighting the work of Homewards, the five-year programme launched through The Royal Foundation to test practical ways of preventing homelessness across the UK. The initiative is currently operating in six flagship locations: Lambeth in London, Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Newport in Wales, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
According to new figures released around the anniversary, the campaign has now invested ÂŁ1.9 million across those locations, while a further ÂŁ3.5 million has reportedly been leveraged through grants and private philanthropy. The programme also says ÂŁ2.3 million worth of surplus goods, including support from IKEA, has helped furnish Homewards homes, while 250 people have been supported into stable employment.
In a speech in London, William is set to argue that homelessness is not simply a matter of rough sleeping or individual hardship. He will say that if systems contribute to the problem, then systems can also help prevent it. That idea sits at the centre of Homewards: bringing councils, charities, house builders, banks, schools and local organisations together to create joined-up solutions before people reach crisis point.
A major focus for the prince is changing public understanding of what homelessness looks like. While rough sleeping remains the most visible form, thousands of families and children are also affected behind closed doors. More than 170,000 children across the UK are said to be living in temporary accommodation, often in places that are not suitable for their needs.
Hazel Detsiny, executive director of Homelessness at The Royal Foundation, has described meetings with William as âpunchyâ, saying the prince repeatedly asks how the team will know whether the work has succeeded after five years, and whether it can create long-term change beyond the original locations.
The final two years of the project are expected to focus heavily on proving that local success can be expanded nationally. William wants Homewards to demonstrate that prevention can be built into everyday services, from housing and employment support to early help for children, families and young people at risk.
One person helped by the scheme is Chelsie Robinson, 28, from Newport. After becoming homeless and living in temporary accommodation, she was supported by Homewards. The opera singer said her life had changed dramatically after losing work during the Covid pandemic and grieving the loss of her mother to cancer. She praised William as humble, personable and easy to speak to, despite his future role as king.
For William, the anniversary is not only a moment to reflect on progress, but a chance to sharpen the campaign’s central promise: that homelessness can be prevented when society stops treating it as someone else’s problem and starts building systems designed to catch people before they fall.
