PA MediaPrince William is changing public attitudes towards homelessness in the way that his mother Princess Diana changed attitudes towards people with HIV/Aids, says former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The two men have formed an unexpected alliance in a campaign against homelessness, as Prince William’s Homewards project marked its second anniversary with an event in Sheffield.
The ex-Labour PM – who now runs an anti-poverty charity – praised the prince’s involvement in tackling homelessness, saying “his passion, his dedication, his commitment shone through”.
The warmth was reciprocated, with Prince William talking about the strengths of working together.
Brown introduced himself at the event as someone now “too old to be a UK prime minister and too young to be a US president”.
He said the prince’s interest in social problems such as homelessness had been influenced by his mother Princess Diana.
She had “encouraged him to take an interest in why people were on the streets, and why people were homeless, and why people needed a better chance”, said Brown, who said he was “proud” of the prince’s engagement in such a complex problem.
Prince William said: “The power of partnerships gives me hope.
“I feel less hopeful when I’m doing things by myself. I think we all as human beings want to feel connected and part of something.”
The shared project in this case is the Homewards campaign to tackle homelessness, based in six areas in the UK, which are trying out approaches that can be used elsewhere.
The campaign brings together public and private sector organisations, with more than £50m in funding from Lloyds Bank.
In Sheffield they are experimenting with an early intervention scheme, working with schools to identify young people at risk of being homeless. It’s based on a project in Geelong in Australia which has cut youth homelessness by 40%.
PA MediaPrince William spoke of the importance of hope and optimism, in a street in Sheffield that seemed to be posing its own questions about whether it was time to be optimistic or pessimistic.
Beside the event venue was a derelict building with “Faith” spray painted on to a green bin, and on the other side “Vomit” was painted on a boarded up window.
The speeches about homelessness were also about stark choices of direction.
Prince William talked about the feeling of success when people are moved into a home as a result of his project. It was about giving people dignity and stability, he said.
“You envisage it, you talk about and think about it. But then you see it actually coming into fruition, and you meet parents and family in the house.
“This has come together because of all the great people within the organisation. You start to feel OK. There’s hope, there’s traction.
“And wherever I go I’m always asking questions like: What’s the problem? What’s not working? What we’re going to do more on?”
He says getting into a home can give people calm after the “chaos of their life”.
Brown’s charity, Multibank, is helping to furnish such homes, using donations from individuals and businesses.
Since leaving public office he has been campaigning against poverty and he now says his charity is helping a younger generation which he describes as “austerity’s children”.
He praised Prince William’s involvement in helping people who “through no fault of their own need help to get back on their feet”.
And he welcomed the way that the prince, through Homewards, was changing perceptions about people who become homeless.
“He’s changing people’s views, so that you’ve got to think of a homeless person as an individual who has potential, who if given the proper chance can make something of their lives, and not as someone to be discounted as a down and out.
“It’s someone who has got potential talent, and if you can find a way of developing that talent, you can make a real difference to their lives, and they can make a real difference to the life of the community. So this is an investment in all our future,” said Brown.
“We’re seeing something big here,” added Brown, that familiar voice now in an unexpected royal partnership.
It was even more of a surprise for a handful of bystanders outside the low-key visit, who looked up to see a former prime minister and then a purposeful Prince of Wales, heading towards his car.
