NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Prince William<\/a> has chosen a deeply meaningful date to spotlight the progress of his mission to end homelessness \u2014 what would have been Princess Diana<\/a>\u2019s 64th birthday.\n<\/p>\n On July 1, William will travel to Sheffield in northern England to mark the second anniversary of his Homewards initiative<\/a>, which aims to make homelessness \u201crare, brief and unrepeated.\u201d<\/a> The cause is one that has long resonated with him \u2014 inspired by the compassion and advocacy of his late mother.\n<\/p>\n As children, William and his brother Prince Harry<\/a> were taken by Diana to visit shelters, where she helped shine a light on the humanity behind homelessness. William has carried that torch, becoming patron of organizations Diana once supported, including Centrepoint<\/a> and The Passage<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Prince William visiting one of the Homewards centers, Bournemouth, England, in September 2023.<\/p>\n Chris Jackson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Across the six pilot areas, more than 100 projects are already underway \u2014 and one of the most significant breakthroughs has been securing over $50 million in financing from Lloyds Bank to support the development of housing across these regions. Homewards calls the investment a \u201cgroundbreaking moment,\u201d one they hope will inspire other institutions to unlock new streams of funding for affordable homes.\n<\/p>\n Ahead of his visit, Prince William released an open letter to the six participating regions \u2014 Sheffield, Newport in South Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Lambeth in London \u2014 commending their progress and urging continued momentum as they are in “delivery mode.”\n<\/p>\n As he prepared for his outing, William released an open letter to the six participating areas \u2013 as well Sheffield they are Newport in south Wales, Aberdeen in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Lambeth, London. He said they are now very much in “delivery mode” as the second year comes to an end.\n<\/p>\n “Your experiences are what makes Homewards unique and powerful,” William wrote. “We have the ability to harness our collective capabilities, expertise, and resources towards this common cause. I am immensely proud to say that your collective effort has already allowed us to achieve lasting impact.”\n<\/p>\n “I am confident we can lead and inspire understanding, empathy and optimism that homelessness can be ended,” he continued. “Focus is also important, and you have identified the groups particularly at risk of homelessness in your locations to drive solutions that show it is possible to prevent their homelessness.”<\/p>\n Princess Diana at an event involving homelessness charity Centrepoint.<\/p>\n Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty<\/p>\n William added, “While visiting the six locations, I have been inspired by the motivation, creativity, and expertise that is embodied in each location and the tangible difference you are making for some of society\u2019s most vulnerable.”\n<\/p>\n “Keep going!” he signed off.\n<\/p>\n Reflecting on the program\u2019s progress, Lydia Stazen \u2014 former Executive Director of the Institute of Global Homelessness and a member of the Homewards National Expert Panel \u2014 says the initiative is \u201cexactly where I would expect the program to be at this point. The networks have been built, the foundations have been laid and we are seeing really concrete outcomes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n She adds that Homewards came at exactly the right time for the sector. \u00a0After the COVID pandemic, levels of burnout of frontline workers and executives were \u201cextremely high,” she says. “Homewards was perfectly timed to bring in that fresh energy and bring in some new partners and resources, which was so desperately needed at that point.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Prince William, with Homewards supporter Geri Halliwell Horner at an event in London in June 2023.<\/p>\n Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Polly Neate, former CEO of U.K. charities Shelter and Women\u2019s Aid, says Homewards is confronting one of the biggest challenges in the fight against homelessness: the widespread sense of disempowerment and defeat.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHaving somebody like Prince William really being very clear that it is possible to prevent homelessness, it is possible to end it, is hugely impactful and we are already seeing that,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n \u201cDuring my time at Shelter \u2014 and before \u2014 we have seen other joined-up initiatives that have sought to tackle homelessness and those have been really valuable. But they have, in the main, focused on crisis intervention,” she continues. “We need to get out of this idea that crisis intervention is going to end homelessness. That\u2019s because the primary causes of homelessness are systemic.\u201d\n<\/p>\n