Here are some photos of Prince William today at Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London. This was the first stop in his “homelessness project” tour, which I guess means that he’ll be staging events across the UK to launch this program. The name of the program is called Homewards, and if I’m reading this correctly, William is solely financing the project… through the Royal Foundation. William has been previewing the project and I honestly thought it was going to be something much bigger and more comprehensive, given William’s desire to have some big, signature initiative (to compete with his brother). But this just sounds like William is financing six half-way houses across the UK? That’s nothing to sniff at, but it’s nowhere near the kind of program which will eradicate homelessness as we know it.
Prince William today launches an ambitious £3million programme to ‘end’ homelessness within five years. The future king is personally funding, through his Royal Foundation’s charitable arm, six projects in flagship locations across the UK. They will bring together local stakeholders, experts and even house builders to eradicate rough sleeping, ‘sofa surfing’ and temporary hostels and bring about substantive change.
As a member of the Royal Family, William acknowledges his critics may question why someone from such a privileged background believes they can solve such a widespread issue. Figures suggest more than 300,000 people – nearly half of whom are children – are homeless, whether living on the streets, in cars, or hostels and other types of temporary accommodation.
He has been involved with several organisations working in the field ever since, including Centrepoint and The Big Issue. Now the 41-year-old heir to the throne believes he can use his unique convening power as a member of the Royal Family to bring together coalitions of individuals, organisations and businesses to work together based on specific local needs.
The programme, run by his Royal Foundation, will be known as ‘Homewards’. Launching the initiative today, with hopes of turning conventional thinking about the problem on its head, the prince will say: ‘In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need. Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate. It’s a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated.’
William will unveil the six locations over the next two days on a tour of the UK. Sources say he feels inspired by his mother who would be celebrating her 62nd birthday this week. ‘She is very much in his thoughts as he embarks on this,’ said one source. ‘This isn’t just his legacy, it’s his mother’s legacy. This means so much to him and meant so much to his mother. He is committed to transforming the way we as a nation think about homelessness. The prince really is the heart and soul of [the programme].’
Imagine having millions of pounds in resources, an overstaffed office at Kensington Palace, a whole-ass Duchy of Cornwall (a billion-dollar real estate empire) and then sending out your staff with talking points like “The prince really is the heart and soul of [the programme].” No one said “but sir, why are you centering yourself in this program?” No one said to him “do we need to do wall-to-wall keenery in which we attempt to wrest control of Diana’s legacy in this way?” Is this solely an exercise in William’s narcissism?
Besides all of that, I will be curious to see the breakdown of how this “£3 million” is allocated. When I saw the breakdown in how the money is allocated for Earthshot, I was shocked – Earthshot claims to hand out five £1 million grants every year, but the grants are structured in a way that the prize winners don’t actually get all of the prize money at once, it’s parceled out over the course of three years. Not to mention the fact that Earthshot blows through £7 million on vague Earthshot keenery per year (compared to the “£5 million” in grants) by throwing the big Earthshot ceremonies in different cities and NOT INVITING THE PRIZE WINNERS. I’m just saying, if Homewards is organized in any way like Earthshot, nothing about that “£3 million” figure is as it seems.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
The Prince of Wales during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** 
The Prince of Wales speaks with members during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** 
The Prince of Wales speaks during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
The Prince of Wales speaks during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** 
The Prince of Wales during a visit to Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, south London, which supports people living with mental health conditions across Lambeth, as part of his tour of the UK to launch a project aimed at ending homelessness. Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 26 Jun 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWpjaYB1e8%2BroKeblZTEqrjLopiml5yWwq%2Bvx56qmKCforK4rdGdqpigmaisdKvMoqOloZ%2BjrKm7zJ6jnqujo7K0v76pqaifopa6cA%3D%3D