Prince William is taking his project for the unhoused to the northern English city of Sheffield on Tuesday. Traveling solo while his wife, Kate Middleton, remains at home in Windsor recovering from abdominal surgery, the outing comes just days after the couple were captured on video visiting a local farm shop together. In a show of support from locals, the Prince of Wales was cheered by onlookers as they welcomed him on Tuesday.
It is a continuation of Prince William's mission, inspired by his late mother Princess Diana, to address homelessness. Some good news followed him: more than $1 million is being donated to help those just getting into housing with their initial decorating needs.
This funding is provided by one of the partners in his Homewards initiative, which Prince William launched last summer. Homebase has pledged to provide up to 1,500 'Home Starter Packs,' which may include paint, furniture, flooring, and furnishings to help individuals settle into their new homes comfortably.
Sheffield, situated approximately 170 miles north of London, is among six locations in the U.K. chosen to explore innovative solutions to homelessness. The aim is to share successful strategies widely to address homelessness in other areas. Prince William's goal is to make homelessness 'rare, brief and unrepeated.'
Prince William, 41, started his day in the northeastern part of the city, meeting with parents, caregivers, and young adults from local families who have faced housing insecurity and homelessness. Joining him was campaigner and influencer Kwajo Tweneboa, whose family has firsthand experience with homelessness and housing insecurity.
Tweneboa provided his insights and expertise as they collaborated to develop an approach to highlight key strategies for addressing family homelessness.
'Involving those with lived experience throughout the creation and delivery of Homewards is one of the program’s guiding principles, with co-creation of homelessness solutions recognized as critical best practice in ensuring initiatives have lasting impact,' Prince William's office at Kensington Palace said.
Tweneboa said in a statement, 'Safe, permanent and secure housing is paramount to ensure homelessness does not become part of a family’s story. It’s an honor to be part of the work with Homebase and Homewards to help ensure that families who are struggling can have somewhere to live that feels like home. From there they can build the foundations to really thrive.'
Amanda Berry, CEO of the Prince and Princess of Wales' Royal Foundation, added, 'Bringing together local and national partners to develop new solutions is vital if we want to end homelessness. Through this major investment from Homebase, and support from local landlords, people will be able to create safe, comfortable and secure homes for themselves and their families to thrive.'
Following this, Prince William met with local landlords to discuss how they can contribute to ending family homelessness in the city and to hear about their commitments to supporting the program.
Later in the day, Prince William will participate in a Homewards Sheffield Local Coalition meeting in the city center. This mirrors the work being done in the other five Homewards locations, where groups have convened to develop a Local Action Plan aimed at demonstrating that it is possible to end homelessness in their respective areas.
