Prince William Takes Bold Stand Against Youth Homelessness: Centrepoint Charity Opening Marks the Start of a Transformative Mission
This year, the Prince of Wales will unveil a new initiative in his longstanding commitment to beating the challenges caused by homelessness. And on Tuesday, he visited a favorite charity, Centrepoint, where he opened new housing for young people.
Prince William, 40, was at Reuben House, a new development that forms a key part of Centrepoint’s Independent Living Programme to combat youth homelessness.
The 33 new flats in Peckham, south London, will allow young adults between 18 and 24 to live in affordable housing with rent capped at a third of the residents’ take-home pay. Each person has to have a job or be in a full-time apprenticeship. During his time there on Tuesday morning, William met some of those who had brought the project together and some of the residents who have moved into the homes.
The Centrepoint charity — which William teamed up with in 2005 at the beginning of his public life post-university — estimates that about 15,000 16- to 24-year-old young adults in London faced homelessness last year with 129,000 across the U.K.
READ: Prince William Expresses Gratitude In The Face Of Difficult Conditions
Later in the summer, the prince is set to introduce his new initiative in the area. And when William recently met with the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, it is thought to be one of the areas he discussed with the senior politician.
In February, William signaled his ongoing backing of those without a home, when he went to The Passage in London to open two new residential buildings. He also spent some time in January at another organization, Depaul, that works in local communities across the U.K. to prevent and relieve the impact of homelessness on people’s lives.
Prince William and charity chief executive Seyi Obakin then made short speeches.
The Prince of Wales was inspired to help the homeless by his late mother, Princess Diana, who took him and his brother Prince Harry to homeless shelters to learn more about the issue. William is now patron of two charities, The Passage and Centrepoint (the latter of which, he followed his late mother Princess Diana in supporting).
On his 40th birthday last year, William took part in an interview for The Big Issue, which supports homeless people, and even sold copies on the streets of London.
In 2009, the prince slept out on the streets of London as part of his awareness-raising campaigning and to deepen his own understanding of the challenges the young homeless face.Â