Read: Place-based solutions will help end homelessness
There are many complex reasons for people becoming homeless. A lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment or a life event such as divorce or mental health issues can all result in someone losing their home. Those leaving prison, care or the armed forces and women escaping an abusive relationship are also often forced into homelessness.
A decent home is a fundamental human right. People who have access to affordable, good quality homes build safe and sustainable communities. So the rising tide of homelessness is a cause for concern, not just for the individual but also for the country’s wider economic and social prosperity. In the UK 300,000 people experience homelessness every night, half of whom are children. Its impact extends much further - to their health and wellbeing, education and employment prospects. The cost-of-living crisis has undoubtedly made the situation worse and the mortgage rate timebomb is expected to lead to even more people losing their homes.
Prince William has made his commitment to the issue clear. He is the patron of homelessness charity, The Passage, which he first visited with his mother, Diana, when he was just eleven. He is a regular visitor, learning first-hand about the range of problems that homeless people face and how the organisation supports people, from prevention to community integration schemes and into accommodation. As the first major initiative since he became the Prince of Wales, he has formalised that commitment with the launch of Homewards, a UK-wide project which aims to end homelessness. The five-year programme will work in six towns and cities, bringing together organisations and individuals to find local solutions to homelessness. It is hoped that its findings can be used to create a framework for other areas in the UK. While acknowledging that finding solutions can be as complex as the causes of homelessness, the Prince sees collaboration at a local level as intrinsic to addressing the problem, citing Finland as proof that this works.
This place-based approach is one that the Purpose Coalition promotes in its work with leading organisations to widen access to opportunity across the country. Communities that are safe, with a good quality of life and homes that people can afford, are communities that are sustainable in the long run. Without that security, there is a risk that their talent will move elsewhere and deter the very business investment that could transform them.
The Purpose Goals were created by the Purpose Coalition to provide a framework for organisations to help identify gaps in access to opportunity and address the common socio-economic barriers that prevent people from achieving their potential. In addition to Goals that address issues such as fair recruitment, good health and wellbeing and digital connectivity, Goal 12 focuses on building homes and sustainable communities.
This drive for social mobility is one that Prince William has positively supported. In March 2020 he joined Purpose Coalition Chair, Rt Hon Justine Greening, at an event held by Coalition partner, Tarmac, the leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business. At its National Skills and Safety Park in Nottinghamshire he discussed social mobility with business leaders and spoke about opportunity and training for young people, meeting with workers and apprentices to hear about their experiences.
The housing issue is set to be a key focus of the political agenda over the coming months. The Purpose Coalition will continue to work cross-party with its partners to advocate solutions that are based on local experience and expertise to ensure the personal and public stability that comes with having a home.
