Prince William has arrived in Belfast as part of his UK tour to mark the launch of his new Homewards initiative.
The 41-year-old Prince of Wales has set his sights on making rough sleeping, sofa surfing and other forms of temporary accommodation a “rare, brief and non-repeated” issue.
With its new Homewards initiative, the royal family has been inspired by Finland, where the problem of homelessness has virtually been eradicated.
William’s new five-year project will initially focus on six sites and local businesses, organizations and individuals will be encouraged to join forces and develop ‘tailor-made’ action plans to tackle homelessness with funding of up to £500,000.
After a visit to the Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth yesterday, the Royal Family traveled to Northern Ireland to learn more about the work of the East Belfast Mission.
Pictured: Prince William meets with the first members of the coalition being built through Homewards as they begin the path together to end homelessness in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is the fourth of six locations in the UK that the Homewards initiative will initially focus on.
The father-of-three appeared in high spirits when he arrived at headquarters and warmly shook hands with a representative of the charity.
The Prince of Wales braved the rain this morning dressed in navy blue chinos, a light blue shirt and a cream colored blazer.
During the visit, Prince William will meet with charity workers who have been asked to form a coalition with Homewards.
The East Belfast Mission provides a range of support for communities across Belfast – with an important part of their work relating to the city’s growing problem of homelessness.
Today, Prince William will find out more about their ‘240’ housing project – in which the East Belfast Mission has turned a vacant building into a community relations space, which also includes six apartments.
Yesterday, the Prince of Wales also visited Hill Street Development – which has partnered with Homewards – in Newport, Wales.
The future king has become increasingly passionate about the issue of homelessness in the UK – after being taken to The Passage charity for the first time by his late mother Princess Diana.
Prince William was seen meeting members of the East Belfast Mission today as part of his campaign to end homelessness in the UK
Prince of Wales was dressed in navy blue chinos, light blue shirt and 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 project aimed at ending homelessness
The Prince of Wales imagined arriving yesterday afternoon at the Hill Street Development in Newport
With its new Homewards initiative, the royal family (photo) has been inspired by Finland, where the problem of homelessness has virtually been eradicated.
The Prince of Wales was seen meeting charity workers at Hill Street Development in Newport yesterday
The Prince of Wales has become increasingly passionate about the issue of homelessness in the UK
On Sunday, the Prince of Wales announced his new project: “In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe home, be treated with dignity and receive the support they need.
“Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and, over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented if we work together.”
Ahead of the campaign launch, 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 firsthand the tireless work of people and organizations across the industry, the tangible impact their efforts can have and what can be done when communities can focus on preventing homelessness instead of controlling it. .
“It is a big task but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, ephemeral and unrepeatable and I very much look forward to working with our six sites to realize our ambition. to make.’
Prince William pictured with Tyrone Mings, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Gail Porter and David Duke – who have experienced homelessness and have pledged to support Homewards
The six chosen areas, including one in London, were selected following a bidding process and the findings and results of the initiative will be used to create models for adoption by other parts of the UK.
According to charity Crisis, which works with Homewards, there are an estimated 300,000 people in the UK who are homeless.
The charity’s director, Matt Downie, cited a “serious shortage of truly affordable housing”, rising rents, the rising cost of living, years of low wages and precarious employment as some of the contributing factors to this problem.
He said: ‘Homelessness is not inevitable, as a provider of services to thousands of people across Britain every year.
“We know that in most cases it is preventable, and in any case it can be ended.”
“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 is pretty much over, and we’ve seen it when we follow innovative programs that put people in housing first.
“We know that we can do the same here with the right choices and by working together.
“As levels of homelessness continue to rise, innovative programs like Homewards are needed more than ever.”
A new survey commissioned by the Royal Foundation found that one in five of 3,473 adults surveyed in May had some personal experience of homelessness, either directly (9%) or through family (8%) or friends (7%) .