Prince William to launch new UK homelessness initiative

LONDON United Kingdom - Britain's Prince William will launch Monday a new UK-wide initiative aiming to show that it is possible to end homelessness and make it "rare, brief, and unrepeated", Kensington Palace announced.

William, 41, the heir to the throne, and his charitable Royal Foundation will help give six flagship locations across Britain "space, tools, and relationships" to work on preventing homelessness locally.

Promising a "transformative approach" to the issue, the five-year initiative -- dubbed Homewards -- will try to create a "tried and tested model that can be scaled across the UK and beyond".

It aims to unlock "unprecedented partnerships" and boost understanding of homelessness, with the programme launching alongside new research suggesting that one in five people in Britain have some experience of homelessness.

"In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need," William said in a statement.

"Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate.

"It's a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated and I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality." The prince will embark on a two-day nationwide tour starting Monday in London, during which he will announce the six locations.

In each place chosen, Homewards will help form locally led coalitions of people, organisations and businesses which will work on preventing homelessness in their areas based on local needs and expertise.

The initiative will also provide access to an unprecedented network of "best-in-class expertise, partners and funders at a local and national level", Kensington Palace said.

That includes up to £500,000 ($635,000) of flexible seed funding in each location that can be accessed to support the delivery of their action plans, it added - AFP