Prince William has insisted it is important to “change and address the narrative around homelessness” in a new clip from his upcoming documentary.
The 22-second video, shared on social media, said the show, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, is “coming soon” to ITV and ITVX.
The documentary will follow the Prince of Wales during the first year of his Homewards initiative, which aims to tackle all forms of homelessness in the UK.
When asked in the clip where his passion for the issue comes from, William, who was without his new beard, said: “I think it’s really important that we can try to change and address the narrative around homelessness.”
“People live with this, we see it every day in our lives, that’s something I want to challenge.”
The show will follow a fire department chief, who takes a former long-time homeless man to meet Prince William and share his story.
Prince William has insisted it is important to “change and address the narrative around homelessness” in a new clip from his upcoming documentary.
The late Diana, Princess of Wales, often took the young royal and his brother to homeless shelters to broaden their horizons after a privileged upbringing.
Over the past year, Homewards teams across six UK locations have been building collaborations between the public, private and third sectors with the aim of laying the foundations.
Homewards aims to develop bespoke solutions for homelessness in Newport, three neighboring Dorset towns (Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch), Lambeth, Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield, which can in future be replicated in other areas of the UK.
Last month, Prince William traveled to Aberdeen to persuade the private sector to rent properties to more homeless people, saying there are “a huge number of people who want to help but don’t know how”.
Speaking about his Homewards initiative to eradicate homelessness in six key areas of the country, the heir to the throne said he wanted to convince landlords and private businesses that it was not too risky.
Speaking to people who have personally struggled with homelessness, addiction, mental health issues and more, he also said he wants to empower “those who are homeless to realize that their lives matter.”
The 22-second video, shared on social media, said the show, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, is “coming soon” to ITV and ITVX.
The Prince of Wales previously attended engagements in Aberdeen to speak about homelessness.
“When you’re at your lowest point, you believe, very understandably, that people don’t care and there’s nowhere to go,” she said, of the importance of eliminating stigma.
But he continued: “There is definitely hope. We have to start changing the narrative.”
The prince flew to Aberdeen on a commercial airline with a slight delay and joked that it had brought good weather.
His first of two engagements was at the Shelter Scotland office, where he spoke to staff and service users.
Hearing that there are many “inadequate accommodations”, which either do not meet an acceptable standard of living or involve sitting on the couch for a long time, he said: “There is pressure everywhere, isn’t there?”
The Prince of Wales was passionate as he attended the lunch and spoke about the issue of homelessness.
The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when he was in Scotland, meets workers in the homeless sector.
The prince told staff he hoped his Homewards project would help raise more awareness of the issue of hidden homelessness, the importance of early intervention to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place and a “step of management to prevention”.
“You guys do all the hard work,” he said. ‘But who supports you? I want Homewards to be that, elevate your work and support you.
“We’re trying to change the narrative to ‘this (homelessness) is happening and we’re moving forward with it’ rather than something no one understands or no one talks about.”