Prince William has spoken of his heartbreaking disappointment as he met homeless people and made a vow inspired by his late mum Princess Diana.
Ahead of Red Nose Day, the Prince of Wales has spent time with Groundswell, a homelessness organisation funded by Comic Relief.
He features in a special thought-provoking film which will be shown on Friday (March 17) on BBC One and iPlayer.
His Royal Highness is Patron of two charities that work to tackle homelessness, Centrepoint and The Passage, and is committed to playing a role in the efforts to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurrent.
Speaking in the film, the future King says: “My mother introduced me to the cause of homelessness from quite a young age, and I'm really glad she did.
"I think she would be disappointed that we are still no further on in terms of tackling homelessness and preventing it than when she was interested and involved in it.”
Rough sleeping in England has risen by 26% in a year amid the spiralling cost-of-living crisis, and research shows the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2022 to be more than 3,000.
However, this is thought to be the tip of the iceberg.
The sheer scale of the issue may be far greater as the number of people in temporary accommodation or considered to be 'hidden homeless' are not accounted for, including people staying with family and friends, sofa surfing or living in unsuitable housing such as squats or sheds.
For the film, Prince William met two people, Nawshin and Miles, who are supported by the charity.
Miles, said: “Homelessness is about not having a safe space - it's a very isolating life. You exist, you don't live.
"Groundswell helps to give a voice to people who have experienced homelessness. People who experience homelessness have solutions if you just ask them – they know what needs changing.”
Nawshin, added: “I didn't have a choice but to leave home - I had a lot of childhood trauma and circumstances happened around me that were out of my control.
"Coming to Groundswell and being supported to share my story has really helped me. It is powerful for people to actually listen.”
Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “We believe those who are closest to the issues have the best solutions and we’re proud to be supporting Groundswell’s important work to enable people facing such difficulties to not only be heard but be part of finding new ways to tackle homelessness.
"Our huge thanks go to Prince William, Nawshin and Miles for helping to raise awareness of this worsening issue and raise much needed funds at such a crucial time.”
Comic Relief has supported homelessness projects since 1988, and over the past two years its funding has helped to support more than 31,000 people experiencing or at risk of homelessness to access safe accommodation and specialist support.
