Yahoo News Prince William Marks One Year of His Ambitious Project to End Homelessness
It is one year since Prince William launched his ambitious Homewards project and pledged that he believed it was possible to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated. And today he has given an update on the work that has been done so far across the UK to make that a reality.
“For me, it’s fantastic to be back in Lambeth, where a year ago we launched Homewards, I can’t believe it, and began our journey of working together to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness,” the Prince said in a speech today. "Homelessness is a complex societal issue, and one that touches the lives of far too many people in our society. However, I truly believe that it can be ended.”
The Prince went on to cite the achievements so far of the five-year program, which focuses on finding solutions in six areas spread across the UK. The project has, he said, convened more than 500 people to develop new ways of addressing the problem. In addition a “pipeline of nearly 100 homes is being established,” with William adding, “my ambitions alone mean there will be so many more!”
One of the initiatives linked to Homewards that has attracted a lot of attention is the fact that the Duchy of Cornwall will be home to a new housing project in Newquay. Some 24 new homes for people experiencing homelessness are being build on Duchy land—the 53,000 hectare estate that gives William a “personal” income of £20 million per year. Anti-monarchy organization Republic has previously described this announcement as “more spin than substance” saying that all the money William takes from the Duchy should be spent on communities.
A royal spokesperson said today that they would provide more information soon on additional homelessness projects on the Duchy land, with William playing an active role in their development.
“All of us in this room know that changing a system to focus on prevention, rather than simply managing the crisis, will take time,” William said in his speech today. "In our second year, each of our locations will finalize their action plans and start delivering the solutions that will create lasting impact.”
Representatives from the six areas of the UK were present along with advocates for Homewards were at the event in Lambeth with Prince William today.
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