{"id":230144,"date":"2025-07-01T20:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/230144\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:03:13","slug":"prince-of-wales-marks-two-years-of-homewards-with-a-visit-to-sheffield-the-crown-chronicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/230144\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince of Wales marks two years of Homewards with a visit to Sheffield \u2022 The Crown Chronicles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Prince of Wales visited Sheffield today, as he marked the second anniversary of his Homewards programme with a number of engagements.<\/p>\n

The visit came a day after Prince William sent a deeply appreciative letter to the local coalitions<\/a> spearheading his UK-wide initiative to end homelessness.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"The Prince of Wales marked the second anniversary of Homewards. (Picture by Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n

In a letter to the flagship groups to mark the second year, William thanked them for joining in his mission. He told them \u201cThere are now people who are no longer experiencing homelessness thanks to your tremendous efforts\u201d and implored them to keep going.<\/p>\n

Homewards was launched in June 2023<\/a> by His Royal Highness and The Royal Foundation. It is a five year programme which aims to end homelessness in the UK. The past two years has seen flagship locations pop up in Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Sheffield, and Northern Ireland \u2013 with each location creating a Local Action plan which details the steps they will take towards the overall goal of the programme.\n<\/p>\n

\"PrinceThe Prince of Wales attended a special event for the two-year anniversary of Homewards, which brought together Homewards Coalition members from across all six flagship locations. (Picture by Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n

The Prince was joined by former British Prime Minster Gordon Brown<\/a>, and Homewards Advocate Steven Bartlett<\/a> for the Homewards: Delivering Change Together event. Steven has regularly accompanied William to Homewards events and engagements since becoming an advocate last year, while Gordon is a founder of Multibank<\/a>, a Homewards partner.<\/p>\n

The event was a daylong one, and featured a number of workshops and panels \u2013 one of which saw the three men take to the stage. It gave a chance to all those involved in the flagship locations to come together and discuss ideas. After the panel, The Prince met with individuals who have experienced homelessness firsthand and are now using that experience to help shape the direction of Homewards now and in the years to come.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Prince William highlighted the importance of tackling the root causes of homelessness, including mental health, domestic abuse, and youth vulnerability, emphasising that \u201chomelessness is not just about housing \u2013 it\u2019s about people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"\"William was joined by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Steven Bartlett. (Picture by Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Telegraph, the former British Prime Minister said that the Heir to the Throne had\u00a0been \u201cvery influenced by his mother\u201d on the issue of homelessness, highlighting how his late mother \u2018encouraged him to take an interest in why people were on the streets, and why people were homeless, and why people needed a better chance\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

He added how William is \u2018changing people\u2019s view of homelessness and what can be done about it. Remember, his mother changed people\u2019s views on AIDS, his mother changed people\u2019s views on landmines, and I think he\u2019s changing people\u2019s view that you\u2019ve got to think of a homeless person as an individual who has potential \u2014 who if given the proper chance, can actually make something of their lives and not as someone to be discounted as a down-and-out\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"\"William visited Meadow Secondary School. (Picture by Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n

\nThe second visit of the day was to Meadowhead Secondary School<\/a> for the launch of the Upstream programme. The programme is currently being piloted at the school and uses a student survey to identify which young people would be at a greater risk of homelessness. The programme aims to connect those students, and their families, to the support that they need. The programme is modelled on the Australian Geelong Project.<\/p>\n

\"\"is Royal Highness also met members of the Homewards National Lived Experience Group \u2013 people with lived experience of homelessness who are helping Homewards to shape and develop the programme. (Picture by Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n

During the visit to the school, The Prince was joined by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and met with pupils.<\/p>\n

It had not been lost on those in the media and the public that today is Princess Diana<\/a>\u2019s birthday. The Princess herself was an advocate for the homelessness, taking her sons to visit homeless shelters. It has been a project William has taken on in the past 20 years, and no doubt his mother would be very proud.<\/p>\n