William ‘wants to bring England team confidence to homelessness project’

The Prince of Wales said he wanted to instill the “self-belief” shown by England’s Euro 2024 squad in the organizations that signed up to his project to end homelessness.

William marked the first year of the Homewards initiative by returning to the London borough of Lambeth, where he launched the initiative, and revealed he hoarsely shouted during the Three Lions’ tense semi-final win over Holland in Germany.

The future king apologized for the slight loss of voice as he met representatives working to eradicate homelessness in six locations: Newport, Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen, Sheffield and three neighboring towns in Dorset, Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.

In a speech, he reiterated his belief that homelessness “can be ended” and said the ideas and approaches developed in the six target areas “will have the power to inspire change across the UK and beyond”.

The prince, who is chairman of the Football Association and an Aston Villa fan, posted on social media after manager Gareth Southgate’s side booked their place in the Euro 2024 final with a last-gasp goal from Villa player Ollie Watkins.

Writing under his own name, William posted on X: ‘What a beauty Ollie! Congratulations England!”

Ian Jones, head of external engagement at Bournemouth University, which is involved in the Homewards project, brought up England’s win while speaking to William: “He said he was hoarse and he would be, he’s an Aston Villa fan.

“I just told him that working with Homewards makes us proud as he must have felt last night when Ollie Watkins scored the last goal.

“Of course he wanted to talk about last night too. He said how proud he was of their win last night and was convinced Ollie Watkins would do something great – he knew it.

“And she said that self-confidence in her is the kind of thing she’s trying to do with us, to work on these projects.”

Health in various forms, from children living in temporary spaces to those sleeping in the capital, has reached record levels.

Government statistics released in April showed there were 145,800 children in temporary accommodation as of December 31 last year, up by a fifth from 20 years ago when records for the measure began.

Official figures showed that there were a total of 112,660 bed and hotel households in England, of which 71,280 were households with children.

In London, 11,993 people were seen sleeping rough in the year to March, according to the latest Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Lant) statistics.

Homewards has already received a £1m pledge from DIY retailer Homebase, in the form of home starter kits, and support from coffee chain Pret-a-Manger, which has expanded its scheme to employ people without shelter.

The energy and enthusiasm that each individual and organization brings to the program…is inspiring and I know that together we can do this

In a speech, William highlighted Homewards’ achievements over the past 12 months, saying: “Already a pipeline of almost 100 homes is being established through the innovative housing projects that will be developed at each location and believe me, just my ambitions mean there. there will be so many more.

“We are also working to change the way we all think about homelessness. Today, homelessness affects much more than the men and women we unfortunately see on our streets.

“We will improve understanding of the different forms of homelessness, changing perceptions and increasing optimism that it can be ended.

“The energy and enthusiasm that each individual and organization brings to the program and to show that it is possible to end homelessness in their local area is inspiring and I know that together we can do it.”