Prince William’s five-year programme to demonstrate that together it is possible to end homelessness, marking a year of progress across its six locations, including Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP).
Over the past year, Homewards has been working with BCP, as well as the programme’s five other locations (Aberdeen; Lambeth; Newport; Northern Ireland and Sheffield) to form coalitions which will drive the project forward locally and build action plans to put each location on a trajectory to end homelessness.
In BCP, substantial work has taken place to identify emerging priorities vital to ending local homelessness and to lay the foundations, setting the area up for success by:
Forming a strong local coalition:
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- In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Homewards has formed a coalition of 97 local organisations and individuals.
- Continuing to build on the impactful visit from Prince William and Steven Bartlett in September 2023, Homewards has built on existing partnerships and brought in members including Pret A Manger, Sunseeker and AFC Bournemouth, as well as the local universities and business groups.
Identifying emerging focus areas:
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- Homewards has also been working to identify and hone the priority areas where the programme can add value to the existing, meaningful work that is already taking place to address homelessness in BCP.
- Homewards in BCP will work on expanding employability and driving greater access to housing, with young people as an initial priority group.
- Each location is also developing an innovative housing project which will test new ways to unlock homes at scale for those who already experience, or who are on the brink of experiencing homelessness. In BCP, the project will support young people, including those with care experience.
Securing unprecedented partnerships:
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- Homewards is working with Crisis and a range of local partners to deliver an employment event for local businesses to understand how they can work to end homelessness through employment pathways.
- Following the initial BCP Coalition meeting, a local school has partnered with Shelter to develop and trial new material for students and teachers on homelessness. Homewards is helping to connect this into other homelessness prevention work with young people.
- Sunseeker, Poole College and Faithworks have collaborated to create training placements for people with lived experience of homelessness.
Generating systems change:
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- Homewards is coordinating training for operational and strategic leads across BCP to develop local approaches to involving those with lived experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of services.
- Homewards is working with Shelter and Homeless Link to amplify the voices of frontline workers and improve the way services respond to homelessness.
Working to change the narrative:
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- Homewards is focused on improving understanding about the different forms of homelessness, shifting perceptions and boosting optimism that homelessness can be ended. Communications professionals are working collaboratively across all six locations on a strategy to reframe damaging negative perceptions of homelessness.
- Changing local perceptions around homelessness is a focus in BCP and a local working group has also been established, dedicated to this goal.
- Homewards will soon launch an exhibition with the Saatchi Gallery
- Homewards’ six flagship locations will also feature in an exclusive two-part ITV documentary series which explores homelessness in the UK today and follows the first year of the Homewards programme.
“Over the last year we have been working in partnership with six locations across the UK, bringing people and organisations together to create the foundations on which to build long-term change. Inspired by our belief that is possible to end homelessness, we are already demonstrating what can be achieved if we all work together. We are immensely grateful to the committed people, organisations and businesses who are working with us to prove homelessness can be prevented and solutions found.”
-Amanda Berry OBE, CEO, The Royal Foundation
“Through Homewards, we have connected with Shelter and, together, we are now developing student centred materials which will be scalable and shared across BCP. This early-stage prevention means we can offer a wider range of educational opportunities to help young people develop the skills and knowledge that are essential for securing stable employment and financial security.”
–Mark Avoth, Principal of The Bourne Academy
As the programme moves into its second year, the Homewards Coalition in BCP will focus on turning collaboration into action, as they publish and begin delivering their action plans to show that it is possible to end homelessness.
To mark the first year of progress, Prince William is attending a special Homewards event in Lambeth, one of the six flagship Homewards locations.. Today’s event will bring together representatives from the six flagship locations, including BCP, as well as individuals from across the wider homelessness and private sectors. Prince William will hear about the work of each of the six locations before delivering a short speech in which he will thank partners of the programme.
Local representatives from the Homewards BCP Coalition who are attending today’s event include Lorraine Mealings, CEO of Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA); Kelly Deane, Director of Housing for BCP Council; Mark Avoth, Principle of The Bourne Academy; Ian Jones, Head of Engagement at Bournemouth University; Tom Flood CBE, Chair of Dorset Community Foundation, and Matthew Buckham, Managing Director of Sovereign Housing.
“Over the last year we have been working in partnership with six locations across the UK, bringing people and organisations together to create the foundations on which to build long-term change. Inspired by our belief that is possible to end homelessness, we are already demonstrating what can be achieved if we all work together. We are immensely grateful to the committed people, organisations and businesses who are working with us to prove homelessness can be prevented and solutions found.”
Mark Avoth, Principal of The Bourne Academy said: “Through Homewards, we have connected with Shelter and, together, we are now developing student centred materials which will be scalable and shared across BCP. This early-stage prevention means we can offer a wider range of educational opportunities to help young people develop the skills and knowledge that are essential for securing stable employment and financial security.”
As the programme moves into its second year, the Homewards Coalition in BCP will focus on turning collaboration into action, as they publish and begin delivering their action plans to show that it is possible to end homelessness.
To mark the first year of progress, Prince William is attending a special Homewards event in Lambeth, one of the six flagship Homewards locations.. Today’s event will bring together representatives from the six flagship locations, including BCP, as well as individuals from across the wider homelessness and private sectors. Prince William will hear about the work of each of the six locations before delivering a short speech in which he will thank partners of the programme.
Local representatives from the Homewards BCP Coalition who are attending today’s event include Lorraine Mealings, CEO of Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA); Kelly Deane, Director of Housing for BCP Council; Mark Avoth, Principle of The Bourne Academy; Ian Jones, Head of Engagement at Bournemouth University; Tom Flood CBE, Chair of Dorset Community Foundation, and Matthew Buckham, Managing Director of Sovereign Housing.
