Further details of Homewards are expected to be announced over the next few days, however, William and his wife Princess Kate’s Royal Foundation has donated £500,000 to six pilot projects around the country to help set up innovative new housing.
In Bournemouth, the Prince visited charity centre Faithworks which works in partnership with local businesses and produces items such as chopping boards, signboards, candle sticks and pens.
He tried his hand at making a garden dipper and joked that he would try to keep all his fingers attached while using a wood turning lathe, although he later said the experience was “therapeutic”.
William spoke to trainees learning new skills about how working with the workshop has transformed their lives. He also got stuck in and tried his hand at the carpentry machinery himself.
Earlier in the day William kicked off his busy week by visiting Mosaic Clubhouse in Lambeth, south London, where he learned about the organisation’s work supporting those who are homeless and living with mental illness.
He gave a moving speech in which he paid tribute to his late mother Princess Diana for inspiring the project, as used to take him and brother Prince Harry to homeless shelters when they were children.
He said: “My first visit to a homelessness shelter was when I was 11 with my mother. The visits we made, left a deep and lasting impression.
“I met so many extraordinary people and listened to so many heart-breaking personal stories. Too many people have found themselves without a stable and permanent place to call home.”
He added that his Homewards campaign has taken two years to put together, although it is something that he has been planning to do for a decade.
He told those gathered in Lambeth that it was “exciting” and he was “looking forward” to the next five years of the project getting underway.
The future King said of his plans: “In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need.
“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.”
