Depaul International is delighted to be a sector partner on Homewards, The Royal Foundation’s new programme to end homelessness.
Depaul’s first project, a hostel in Willesden for young people experiencing homelessness, was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1990. Since then, our teams on the ground have witnessed homelessness become an ever-growing issue. We therefore welcome the launch of Homewards today, which will showcase that, through collaboration, ending homelessness is possible.
Homewards is a 5-year-long programme, launching in six flagship locations across the UK. Locally-led coalitions of individuals, businesses and organisations will be created, and they will implement an action plan to prevent homelessness in their local area. Findings from these areas will be used to create a model to prevent homelessness that can be scaled across the UK and beyond.
As a sector partner, Depaul International will work alongside Depaul Ireland and Depaul UK to share our frontline expertise with these coalitions. Both organisations have extensive experience providing services to those experiencing homelessness, as Depaul Ireland was founded in 2002 and Depaul UK in 1989. We look forward to sharing with and learning from other sector partners on Homewards, as new and innovative ways to prevent homelessness are developed. At Depaul International, working in solidarity alongside communities with lived experience of homelessness is fundamental to our work and we are proud to be part of a programme that puts those with lived experience at its heart.
We are proud that fellow Depaul Group member, the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH), will also be a sector partner on Homewards. IGH will offer perspectives about how global factors drive local homelessness, and what solutions can be implemented. Lydia Stazen, Executive Director of IGH, will sit on Homewards’ Expert Panel, who will provide counsel and expertise to enhance the action plans developed by the local coaltions.
Matthew Carter OBE, Depaul International’s Group CEO, commented: “Depaul International is witnessing more and more people affected by homelessness throughout the world and the need for action has never been greater. We know ending homelessness is possible, but we can’t do it alone.
We are therefore delighted to partner with The Royal Foundation on this critical programme. It is vital we learn from those who are homeless or who have lived experience and work in solidarity to find local solutions. The launch of Homewards today is an important step forward.”
Find out more at https://homewards.org.uk/
