Eamonn Holmes has identified "funding" and "migration" as the critical barriers facing Prince William's ambitious mission to end homelessness, speaking on GB News about Prince's two-year-old Homewards initiative.
The presenter, who initially expressed enthusiasm when the Prince of Wales launched the programme in 2023, admitted his concerns about the project's progress.
Prince William has marked the second anniversary of his Homewards programme by acknowledging the "complex and unpredictable" nature of tackling homelessness across the UK.
In a letter to local coalition groups working across six flagship locations, the Prince of Wales urged them to "keep going" whilst recognising the scale of the challenge ahead.
Eamonn Holmes said that "migration" is a huge problem
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Speaking about this on GB News, Eamonn said: "The charity is now in delivery mode. The good thing about this is that two years ago, he made this statement that he was going to end homelessness.
"I actually started to think, fantastic. Then I heard nothing about it, nothing. What on earth is going on?"
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GB News Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker replied: "I mean, it’s something Prince William concedes, ending homelessness isn’t going to happen overnight. Two years ago, he set up Homewards to demonstrate that homelessness can be ended and, I quote, made 'rare, brief and unrepeated.'
"So what he’s done is set up six flagship locations around the country. Belfast is one of them. We’ve got Lambeth here in south London, Bournemouth and other places as well, and Aberdeen is another.
"They are essentially forming blueprints to show how homelessness can be tackled in that specific area. Because what Prince William and his team are arguing is that it won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach across the country. It needs local stakeholders and organisations working together to solve homelessness in each city."
Eamonn added: "I’ll tell you what these organisations don’t have, I know this because I do some work in and around homelessness particularly in Belfast, is funding. That’s the problem.
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"Because it’s not just a case of ‘I’m Joe Bloggs and I don’t have anywhere to live.’ It’s often ‘I’m Joe Bloggs and I have a drug problem, or a drinking problem, or terrible family issues,’ or whatever it may be. It’s not a simple fix.
"And then we’ve got the migrant situation on top of all this. You wonder how that’s going to interfere with what he’s trying to do."
Cameron agreed: "Exactly there’s not enough housing, not enough funding."
The Homewards initiative has launched more than 100 programmes across its six locations: Newport, Lambeth, Northern Ireland, Aberdeen, Sheffield, and the Dorset towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.
William has marked the second anniversary of his Homewards programme by acknowledging the "complex and unpredictable" nature of tackling homelessness
ReutersApproximately 300 homes are forecast to be delivered through the programme's Innovative Housing Projects, comprising empty accommodation, private rentals and new builds. The first residents moved into Aberdeen flats in March, with Sheffield tenants beginning to move in this week.
A significant financial boost came in February when Prince William unveiled a partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, making £50 million available to organisations tackling homelessness. Nearly £3 million has additionally been secured from partners and coalition members.
The programme has also launched Upstream, an early intervention initiative in schools to identify young people most at risk of homelessness, modelled on Australia's successful Geelong Project.
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