William is visiting a homeless charity in Belfast as he continues his UK tour for the brand new Homewards initiative.
Prince William is in Belfast as part of his UK tour to celebrate the launch of his new initiative Homewards.
The 41-year-old Prince of Wales has decided to make rough sleeping, sofa-browsing and various types of short-term accommodation a “rare, brief and unrepeatable” situation.
Finland, a place where homelessness has almost been eradicated, has impressed the royal household with their new Homewards initiative.
William’s new five-year challenge will initially focus on six websites, and local businesses, organizations and people will be inspired to join forces and develop “tailored” action plans to tackle homelessness, with funding of up to £500,000.
Yesterday, after going to the Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, the royal family traveled to Northern Ireland for further training in connection with the work of the East Belfast Mission.
Pictured: Prince William meets key members of the coalition being built with the help of Homewards as they embark on a journey together to end homelessness in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is the fourth of six places in the UK that Homewards will initially focus on.
The father-of-three appeared in high spirits as he arrived at the headquarters and warmly shook hands with the charity’s adviser.
The Prince of Wales braved the downpour this morning wearing navy blue chinos, a light blue shirt and a cream blazer.
During the trip, Prince William will meet with charity workers who have been asked to form a coalition with Homewards.
The East Belfast Mission offers a wide range of support to communities across Belfast as a vital part of their work to tackle the growing problem of homelessness in the city.
Today, Prince William will learn more about their ‘240’ housing challenge, which has seen the East Belfast Mission turn a vacant building court into a group relationship area with an additional six flats.
Yesterday, the Prince of Wales made an additional visit to Hill Street Development, in partnership with Homewards, in Newport, Wales.
The future king has become increasingly passionate about the homeless situation in the UK – after his late mum Princess Diana took him to charity The Passage for the first time.
Prince William was seen at the time as members of the East Belfast Mission Assembly as part of his marketing campaign to end homelessness in the UK.
The Prince of Wales wore navy blue chinos, a soft blue shirt and a cream blazer as he braved the rain
The Prince of Wales at the Skainos Center in Belfast as part of his UK tour to launch a challenge to end homelessness
The Prince of Wales made an appearance at the Hill Street Development in Newport yesterday afternoon
The royal household (pictured) have impressed Finland, a place where homelessness has almost been eradicated, with their new Homewards initiative.
The Prince of Wales was seen fitting charity workers at the Hill Street Development in Newport yesterday
The Prince of Wales has become increasingly passionate about the homelessness situation in the UK
On Sunday, the Prince of Wales presented his new challenge: “In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe home, be treated with respect and receive the support they need.
“Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and give people across the UK hope over the next five years that homelessness can be stopped if we work together.”
Before launching the marketing campaign, Prince William met footballers David Duke and Tyrone Mings, firefighter Sabrina Cohen-Hatton and TV star Gail Porter, all of whom have been homeless.
He continued: “I am fortunate to have seen first-hand the tireless work of people and organizations across the sector, the tangible impact their efforts can have and what can be done when communities can focus on preventing homelessness rather than controlling it. .
“This is a big task but I firmly believe that working together we can make homelessness rare, temporary and irreversible and I look forward to working with our six sites to deliver our ambitions. to make.’
Prince William pictured with Tyrone Mings, Sabrina Cohen Hatton, Gail Porter and David Duke, who have experienced homelessness and are committed to supporting Homewards.
The six selected areas, including one in London, were selected following a competitive process and the findings and results of the initiative will be used to create models to be applied in other parts of the UK.
According to Crisis, a charity working with Homewards, there are around 300,000 homeless people in the UK.
The charity’s director, Matt Downey, cited a “serious shortage of genuinely affordable housing”, rising rents, rising house prices, low wages and precarious employment as some of the contributing factors to the shortage.
He mentioned: “Homelessness shouldn’t be inevitable with the provider delivering to hundreds of people across the UK every year.
“We know it’s preventable in most cases and can be stopped anyway.”
“The best way to tackle homelessness is to prevent it in the first place. We’ve seen it in other countries, like Finland, where homelessness has almost ended, and we’ve seen it as we follow innovative programs that put people first in housing.
“We know we can do the same here by making the right choices and working together.
“As homelessness continues to rise, innovative programs like Homewards are needed more than ever.”
A brand new survey commissioned by the Royal Fund found that one in five out of three, 473 adults surveyed in May had private knowledge of homelessness, either directly (9%) or with the help of a household (8%) or partner (7%). .
