Prince William launched his new homelessness initiative with help from another beloved British celebrity: Geri Halliwell, otherwise known as Ginger Spice.
The Prince of Wales, 41, and the pop star, 50, teamed up on Monday, June 26, to promote William’s Homewards project, which aims to combat homelessness in the United Kingdom. The duo visited Maindee Primary School in Newport, Wales, where they learned how schools can play a role in intervening at the earliest point to prevent students from becoming homeless.
William’s Homewards program will unite “an unprecedented network of organizations and individuals” by tapping into their expertise to “create and deliver a tailored plan to prevent homelessness in their areas,” Kensington Palace said in a statement on Monday. The five-year plan will be implemented in six flagship locations around the U.K., each of which will receive up to £500,000 in seed funding from Homewards. Findings from the flagship locations’ work will be used elsewhere across the U.K. and around the world.
“In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need,” William said in a statement announcing the initiative. “Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the U.K. hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate.”
Halliwell, for her part, shared a snap from the Wales trip with her Instagram followers on Monday, saying that “it was a pleasure” to join William and meet Maindee’s head, Joanne Cueto.
“Education is instrumental in helping to break the generational cycle of homelessness, and it was great to hear about the work Jo and her team are doing to help families in the community,” Halliwell wrote. “Through #Homewards we can help to scale up efforts like this through more collaboration and show that together we can end homelessness. This is why I’m so pleased to be a Homewards Advocate, helping to champion this program.”
Earlier this month, William said that he doesn’t want to interfere with government policy, but rather hopes that Homewards is an “additive” to what politicians are already working on. “It’s bringing all wonderful people and pieces together of the puzzle,” he told the Sunday Times. “From that, we can then get other councils in other parts of the country to copy. It’s about momentum.”
Keep scrolling for more photos of William and Halliwell’s charity project: