Prince William marks special anniversary

Prince William marked three years of Homewards, the homelessness initiative he began, at the Tate Modern in London. 

The Prince of Wales marked three years since the start of his homelessness initiative — Homewards. Now over halfway through its five-year period, Homewards on Tuesday spotlighted how its approach is delivering impactful change in communities across its six flagship locations. Prince William met with local leaders, businesses and partners who are delivering critical work that is supporting people into stable homes and employment, as well as spotting the signs of risk and providing support long before crisis occurs.

At London’s Tate Modern, William joined the partners, national leaders, businesses and local organisations that make up Homewards across the six locations in celebrating the programme’s impact to date. Also in attendance were 30 international delegates, bringing global expertise and working alongside Homewards partners to share learnings and explore how prevention can be applied at scale.

Hosted by Centrepoint ambassador, broadcaster, presenter and DJ, Dean McCullough, the event highlighted how Homewards is embedding prevention — as early as possible — across different parts of society in each of its six locations. From workplaces and schools to housing and local services, it showed how it is expanding the frontline of support for people at risk and the important role that joined-up support can play in preventing homelessness before it begins.

The event also showcased the early, measurable progress emerging from its model of homelessness prevention. This includes people moving into stable homes, being supported into employment, & new partnerships driving investment in prevention. This reflects a wider shift in Homewards’ approach, from testing new methods to scaling the solutions that are proving effective.

As part of the event, Prince William delivered an address to the invited guests, saying in part, “Homelessness is not an individual failure.” The Prince’s speech highlighted the success of Homewards’ approach to date and its potential to serve as a model for homelessness prevention across the United Kingdom and beyond.

Launched in June 2023 by Prince William and The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Homewards is a transformative 5-year programme locally-led in 6 flagship locations around the United Kingdom. The programme provides up to £500,000 of funding for each location, bringing together dozens of partner organisations, from frontline homelessness charities to big businesses. By 2028, Homewards’s aim is for the various locations to be on a path towards ending homelessness for good.