Prince William hugs Geri Horner as he calls £500k anti-homelessness scheme a ‘legacy’ to his mother
PRINCE William yesterday took his £3million homelessness scheme on the road — calling it a “legacy” to his mother, Princess Diana.
Wills, 41, travelled 220 miles to unveil the first three locations of his Homewards initiative after a decade brewing up the project.
At the first — Brixton in South London — he hailed the five-year programme that “will demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness”.
And he said: “My first visit to a homelessness shelter was when I was 11 with my mother. The visits left a deep and lasting impression.
“I met so many extraordinary people and listened to so many heart-breaking stories.”
He was joined by Homewards advocate Geri Horner, 50, with the Spice Girl giving dad-of-three Wills a hug.
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Later in Bournemouth, the prince put on an apron and tried his hand at woodwork on a visit to Faithworks, a Christian charity providing training for homeless people.
He was tasked with making a garden dibber — used for planting bulbs — but said: “Where do I start without making a mess of this? We’re effectively just taking a layer off? Well, I have five fingers . . .”
He later said the experience was “quite hypnotic” and noted all his fingers were still intact.
He added: “I am good at destructive things like destructive gardening but not so much constructive things, so this is a different take.”
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Finally, in Newport, Gwent, Wills and Geri spoke at Maindee primary school about helping the homeless.
The Prince of Wales is due to reveal three more locations for his project today.
He hopes it will encourage leaders to create plans to solve homelessness.
Charity backing
BOSSES of 16 homelessness charities have signed an open letter in support of Prince William’s project.
The Big Issue Group, Centrepoint, Crisis and Shelter are among the organisations to back Homewards.
They said a “truly collective and national response” was needed to end homelessness “in all its forms”.
They added that the “challenge is significant” but that: “Prince William’s involvement will be crucial.”
