‘Everyone should have a safe and secure home’: Prince William launches plan to end homelessness in the U.K.

Prince William remains deeply affected by a childhood visit to a homeless shelter, arranged by his mother, Princess Diana. Now, as the Prince of Wales, William is making bold moves to put an end to homelessness in the United Kingdom and remove the “prejudice and stigma” associated with homelessness.

“My mother introduced me to the cause of homelessness from quite a young age, and I’m really glad she did,” Prince William told the BBC when he recalled a visit to the Passage in central London as an 11-year-old.

“I think she would be disappointed that we are still no further on, in terms of tackling homelessness and preventing it, than when she was interested and involved in it,” William added.

On Monday, William launched a five-year program to end homelessness in the U.K. The initiative — Homewards — aims to make cases of people spending the night without a roof over their head “rare, brief and unrepeated.”

“It’s a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated,” William said in a statement, per The Associated Press. “I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality.”

The Prince of Wales kicked off his initiative amid rapidly rising rent and a scarcity of affordable housing in the U.K., igniting the greatest decline in living standards since World War II. Recent research reveals that more than 300,000 people throughout the U.K. do not have permanent housing at night — including those sleeping on the streets, in cars, at hostels or temporarily sleeping at family or friend’s homes, reports AP.

“In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need,” the Prince of Wales said in a statement Monday, per CNN.

“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.”

William aims to change attitudes towards homelessness

William is following in his mother’s footsteps. He ensures that his three young children are routinely exposed to homelessness and taught how “some of us need a little bit of a helping hand.” He hopes to have a similar impact on the remainder of the U.K.

“When we were in London, driving backwards and forwards, we regularly used to see people sitting outside supermarkets and we’d talk about it,” William shared in an interview with the Sunday Times of how he has introduced his children to homelessness.

“I’d say to the children, ‘Why are they there? What’s going on?’ I think it’s in all our interests, it’s the right thing to do, to expose the children, at the right stage in the right dialogue, so they have an understanding,” William continued.

“They (will) grow up knowing that actually, do you know what, some of us are very fortunate, some of us need a little bit of a helping hand, some of us need to do a bit more where we can to help others improve their lives.”

The heir to the throne hopes he can help change the “narrative” around homelessness and end the “prejudice and stigma” surrounding it, per the BBC.

“This isn’t about a PR stunt. This is about trying to change the way that we as a society think about homelessness,” said a Kensington Palace spokesman, per the BBC.

Matt Downie, chief executive of the charity Crisis, claims he spoke personally with William about his Homewards project and endorsed his authentic commitment to the issue.

“People who are experiencing homelessness can smell when someone’s not authentic,” said Downie, per the BBC. “I certainly can see the difference between people who want to associate for PR purposes in this issue and people who are genuinely driven by righting one of society’s wrongs, and I saw that deeply there.”

If Finland can eliminate homelessness, William believes he can too

The Homewards project draws inspiration from Finland’s “Housing First” policy — a program launched by the government of Finland in 2008 to eliminate long-term homelessness. Finland aims to put an end to homelessness by 2027. The policy provides rental homes with contracts to individuals experiencing homelessness and support as needed or wanted.

Finland’s “Housing First” success “has been the leading example for a number of years,” Downie, CEO of Crisis, told CNN.

William hopes to end homelessness in the U.K. beginning with six flagship locations around the U.K. that will demonstrate how to eliminate homelessness.

Homewards will provide each location with up to $637,000 to support projects and research that will be used to formulate a “a tailored plan to prevent homelessness” in each area, the palace said, per CNN.

William is entering a space ‘reserved just for elected politicians’

This could prove to be a defining project for the Prince of Wales but he needs to be careful to stay in his lane and avoid interfering with government policy, some experts say.

According to historian Sir Anthony Seldon, Williams royal interventions place him “squarely in the space normally reserved just for elected politicians,” per the BBC.

Graham Smith, of the anti-monarchy group Republic, accused William of being “hypocritical,” and claimed that homelessness is about government policy and will not be “resolved by charity or royal patronage,” per the BBC.

“The last thing we need is for William to get involved in this issue, a man who has three huge homes and a vast estate gifted to him by the state,” Smith continued.

But William says that his initiative will not interfere with government policy, claiming that his plan “is an additive to what is already being done,” per CNN.