Prince William defends his ambitious plan to tackle homelessness in UK

By Billy Stockwell, CNN

(CNN) — Prince William has said he comes with “no other agenda” than wanting to “help people who are in need,” in a documentary series that follows the future King as he launches a five-year program he hopes will help end homelessness in six locations across the United Kingdom.

The “Homewards” program, launched in collaboration with the prince’s Royal Foundation, will provide up to £500,000 ($648,000) worth of seed funding in each of the six sites to support pioneering homeless initiatives, which – if successful – could be replicated in other locations, both nationally and internationally.

“The ultimate ambition is to prove that we can prevent homelessness in these regions so that others will come along and say, ‘well if they can do it, why can’t we?,’” the Prince of Wales said in the two-part ITV series, which aired in the UK on Wednesday and Thursday. “I don’t believe we should be living with homelessness in the 21st century.”

Filmed over a 12-month period, the documentary follows the prince and other experts on a hunt for potential solutions to the UK’s homelessness crisis.

When the Homewards program was launched last year, William faced some pushback for his involvement, seen by critics as ironic, or even counterintuitive, given his sprawling personal property portfolio. On the UK radio station LBC, he was dubbed the “prince of homelessness” by host James O’Brien.

But William opted to confront his detractors head-on in the film. “Why else would I be here if I’m not using this role properly to influence and help people where I can?” he said. “I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own.”

William’s ability to put people at their ease is a quality recognized by many featured in the documentary, including Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, who was formerly homeless but is now an advocate for the initiative, working closely with the prince.

Raised in Newport, south Wales, the 41-year-old started living on the streets when she was 15 years old. “My dad had a terminal brain tumor, he died when I was 9 years old,” she said in the documentary. “The impact on the family was enormous.”

Cohen-Hatton ended up sleeping rough on the streets of Newport to “escape” her family breakdown at home, she said. Like many UK cities, Newport has seen street homelessness almost double over the past three years, according to the documentary.

Now the chief fire officer for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service in south England, Cohen-Hatton is supporting the prince by scouting out successful homelessness programs across the UK that could be scaled up.

Speaking to CNN, Cohen-Hatton said she was “pragmatically optimistic” about the impact that Homewards could make. “I have a real optimism that people are focused on the problem,” she said.

“That’s one of the great things about the prince, he has real convening power. He’s able to get people around the table thinking about a perennial problem in a completely different way, and what their contribution to that could be.”

She added: “From my perspective, he has been absolutely critical in driving this forward.”

For Mick Clarke, CEO of London homelessness charity The Passage, the documentary offers viewers a glimpse of the real William.

“We see him as the real person. When he comes (to The Passage) he’s very relaxed, very chilled. I kind of get a feeling there’s a bit of a family relationship there, given the history back to when he was 11,” he explained in a Q&A after a press screening of the documentary. “He’s also very authentic and people who have lived with homelessness are very good at sussing almost instantly whether someone is straightforward, whether they are authentic or not, and he just feels very comfortable.”

He continued, “I think it shone a light on a side that we see all the time – that these guys will see in the meetings they have with him – but sometimes the public don’t.”

The second episode explored the issue of youth homelessness in the UK and saw the prince offer up Duchy of Cornwall land to build 24 new homes, which are set to be completed in 2025.

The two-part documentary will be available to stream globally on Disney+ from Friday, and viewers in the UK can catch up on ITVX.

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