Prince William looks to eradicate homelessness in Britain

Prince of Wales says his children 'will definitely be exposed' to homelessness in the same way he was

Prince William, centre, with his children Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, right, on June 17. Reuters

The Prince of Wales has made it his mission to end homelessness in the UK and has plans to launch a “really big project” to tackle the problem.

In his first interview as the Prince of Wales, Prince William told The Sunday Times that putting an end to homelessness had been a lifelong goal and that the project to eradicate it would be launched by his and the Princess of Wales’s Royal Foundation at the end of the month.

“It’s nerve-racking,” he told The Sunday Times.

“But I’m really excited. I’ve been waiting for the right time to do this.”

Social housing

Even though the prince didn't reveal details, he hinted that the project will include social housing projects to be built on the Duchy of Cornwall's 130,000 acres of land.

Prince William inherited the Duchy from his father on becoming Prince of Wales, as his father ascended to the throne.

The Prince of Wales is no stranger to the plight of Britain's homeless. He is the patron of Centrepoint, a charity which helps homeless young people.

Earlier this week, he officially opened Reuben House, a block of 33 studio properties in Peckham in south-east London, where rents are set at a third of a resident's income, on behalf of the charity.

Like his mother, Princess Diana, Prince William is also the patron of another homelessness charity, the Passage.

It was at a shelter run by the Passage that Princess Diana introduced a then 11-year-old Prince William to the issues and struggles of the homeless.

Exposing the children to homelessness

It's an education and experience that the prince intends to give to his own children when the time is right.

“When I left this morning, one of the things I was thinking was, ‘when is the right time to bring George or Charlotte or Louis to a homeless organisation?’” he told The Sunday Times.

“I think when I can balance it with their schooling, they will definitely be exposed to it. On the school run, we talk about what we see. When we were in London, driving backwards and forwards, we regularly used to see people sitting outside supermarkets and we’d talk about it.

“I’d say to the children, ‘Why are they there? What’s going on?’ I think it’s in all our interests, it’s the right thing to do, to expose the children, at the right stage, in the right dialogue, so they have an understanding.

“They [will] grow up knowing that actually, do you know what, some of us are very fortunate, some of us need a little bit of a helping hand, some of us need to do a bit more where we can to help others improve their lives.”

The prince told the newspaper that local authorities and the national government are too concerned with “managing” homelessness instead of “preventing” it.

“We can do it,” he said. “It’s not insurmountable, this challenge.

“If anyone does become homeless [we can say], ‘OK, here’s the way back, here’s the pathway’.”

“We can visualise that and we can show people that there is a way to do it.”