Prince William's Homewards project announces major new update

The Prince of Wales' impressive Homewards initiative is now firmly in "delivery mode" as it marks its two-year anniversary this month. When the Prince launched the programme in 2023, he had one simple goal: to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness, making it "rare, brief, and unrepeated".

Homewards is focusing on six areas around the UK using scalable solutions to really make a difference - Lambeth in South London, Bournemouth, Newport, Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield. Each location is placing a keen focus on helping a specific group, for example, in Aberdeen, the spotlight is on single occupants and young people under the age of 25. Lambeth, meanwhile, is largely focusing on supporting lone parents in temporary accommodation, while Northern Ireland are aiming their help on women who are experiencing chronic homelessness.

In the 24 months which have followed since the project was launched, huge leaps have been made, such as seeing the first residents move into homes delivered by Homewards, helping young people move into permanent employment with the help of schemes such as Pret Rising Stars and striking up partnerships with huge companies.

The Prince was also the star of a two-part ITV documentary series titled Prince William: We Can End Homelessness. It provided a raw, no-frills, behind-the-scenes look at the first year of the programme and followed the journeys of people at risk of homelessness, or who have lived experience.

William's passion for raising the profile of homelessness charities has stretched over several years and famously stems from the times that his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, would take her two sons on charity visits to meet those who are less fortunate.

The Prince, who is patron of organisations such as Centrepoint and The Passage, is expertly continuing his late mother's work and doing her legacy justice.

To mark the two-year anniversary of Homewards, Prince William will be in Sheffield tomorrow to unveil a new strand of work known as Upstream which is focused on early intervention to tackle the root causes of homelessness at a secondary school in the city.

Tuesday's visit will also see the first residents move into homes delivered by Homewards through Sheffield's Innovative Housing Project (IHP).

In a new letter marking the anniversary, William said: "Homewards is an ambitious programme. Tackling homelessness is not just about building homes. Creating long-term change is complex and unpredictable, but I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy and optimism that homelessness can be ended."

He added: "We know that achieving our goal will take a collective effort, but the power of partnership cannot be underestimated and we will continue to support your hard work and build momentum by bringing in new partners and resources.

"Success for Homewards means demonstrating that change is possible; that homelessness is not the insurmountable challenge it is too often perceived to be. I am so grateful to all of you, and to all those partners who will continue to join our mission. As we move into year three, I am optimistic we can succeed in our collective endeavour."

With over 100 initiatives to tackle homelessness now in place in the six locations, involving the creation of new homes, early intervention and employment, it seems more likely than ever before that, thanks to Prince William, homelessness can be ended.