Prince William visits Homewards Sheffield to mark local housing and homelessness prevention milestones
Prince William visited Sheffield to mark the two-year anniversary of his programme, Homewards – reflecting on the progress made so far, and building momentum for the year ahead.
Over 100 initiatives are now underway to tackle homelessness across the six Homewards locations since the publication of each Homewards’ locations Action Plan earlier this year. However, it doesn’t stop there, with new milestones being marked in Homewards Sheffield this week in support of housing and early intervention initiatives to prevent homelessness.
A new strand of work focused on tackling the root causes of homelessness has launched in Sheffield this week, with two more schools set to follow suit this year. This new initiative, ‘Upstream’, surveys young people to identify those who are at greater risk of homelessness and provides them with the support they and their families need – at the earliest possible point.
Modelled on the Australian Geelong Project, which saw a 40% reduction in youth homelessness and a 20% reduction in the number of young people leaving school early, this work is set to make a tangible impact locally in Sheffield and, crucially, is scalable.
In support of this, His Royal Highness visited one of the local schools involved to see firsthand the impact that this new early intervention model could have for young people who may be at risk of homelessness and would greatly benefit from such prevention support.
To support the launch of Upstream in Sheffield, local Coalition member Roundabout, a South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity, will deliver the work as lead partner with the support of Homewards Sector Partner, Centrepoint.
In another milestone moment for the programme, the first residents will move into homes delivered by Homewards through Sheffield’s Innovative Housing Project (IHP). The Homewards Sheffield IHP has unlocked homes provided by the private rented sector to support families – a group Homewards identified as a priority to support in the local area.
Alongside providing furnished properties to sustain tenancies, Homewards is also putting in place essential wraparound support to ensure they not only have a roof over their head, but the conditions to thrive. Made possible by funding leveraged from The Royal Foundation, Homewards Sheffield are supporting the recruitment of a ‘Service Navigator’ through local Coalition member, SOAR. This essential role will provide the residents access to support services such as pathways to employment.
Not only does this mark a shift in engaging private landlords to support those at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, but charts a course forward for ensuring residents have what they need to properly settle down, improving sustained tenancy for the future.
