Prince William and Gordon Brown join forces to tackle homelessness: ‘Dignity can be restored’

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has joined forces with Prince William’s to boost the royal’s bid to tackle homelessness by convincing big-name retailers to donate furniture.

The royal’s Homewards programme will team up with Brown’s The Multibank charity to furnish at least 250 homes across six locations – Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.

The move will bring brand-new surplus goods from B&Q, Bosch Home Appliances, DFS Group and IKEA to decorate homes for people at risk of homelessness.

“The Multibank began with a simple conviction that surplus goods should never be wasted while families go without,” said Brown, who is president of The Multibank, said: “The Multibank began with a simple conviction that surplus goods should never be wasted while families go without.

“Companies have the goods people need and local charities know the people who need them, so The Multibank is an anti-pollution and anti-poverty project at the same time.

“I am delighted that Prince William is doing so much to overturn stigma towards those experiencing homelessness and is working to restore dignity and humanity to people who need compassion the most. Poverty entrenching effects can be reversed and hope, dignity and opportunity can be restored.”

Offering someone a roof over their head is only part of the solution to solving homelessness. Giving them the tools and resources to make it a home is also important and can play a role in preventing people falling into homelessness once more.

Research shows that people are 12.5% more likely to be able to sustain a tenancy when they are provided furniture and essential goods.

To address this issue, The Multibank will join IKEA in becoming an ‘activator’ in the Homewards programme, supporting the initiative’s ‘innovative housing projects’.

IKEA has already been supporting Homewards projects with brand-new furniture donations but wider partnerships through Multibank will see over £1 million worth of essential items supplied to homes across the UK.

That will make a difference in places like Aberdeen where Homewards is focusing on bringing empty homes back into use for those at risk of homelessness. The project combines housing provision from Langstane Housing Association with essential household items that were provided by local and national businesses.

Homewards claims this demonstrates clear evidence as to how partnerships with the private sector can support longer-term housing solutions.

Read more:

• No room for ‘bullshit’ in solution to homelessness, Prince William told in new documentary
• Meet the ex-Big Issue vendor who went from homelessness to giving Prince William a tour of Aberdeen
• Prince William: ‘Why I wanted to work with the Big Issue’

Hazel Detsiny, executive director of homelessness at The Royal Foundation, said: “This partnership is a powerful example of major industry players – even competitors – coming together to tackle a pressing societal challenge.

“Homewards is looking to collaborate with businesses across all sectors to address the deeper causes of homelessness, including housing, financial stability, and employment. Together, we can show what’s truly possible when businesses become part of the solution.”

Prince William launched Homewards in 2023 with the five-year project aiming to demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness by testing local solutions in six locations that can be scaled up.

Now in the third year of the project, the programme includes more than 100 local initiatives and plans for 300 homes.

However, homelessness has increased across the UK since Homewards launched and the Labour government is set to set out its own prevention-focused vision to end homelessness before the end of the year through a long-term cross-government strategy.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

Change a vendor’s life this Christmas.

Buy from your local Big Issue vendor every week – or support online with a vendor support kit or a subscription – and help people work their way out of poverty with dignity.