Prince William’s Work with the Unhoused Reinforces the Need to ‘Humanize People Who Are Experiencing Homelessness’

Mar. 15, 2025

Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

Prince Williamwent from the glitz and glamor of the annualDiplomatic Corps receptionat Buckingham Palace to a meaningful conversation with a group of unhoused women some 140 miles away the next day.

Prince William, Prince of Wales during a visit with Homewards Newport to hear about the local coalition’s approach to preventing women’s homelessness in the city, and unveil commitments from local organisations who have pledged their support at The Nelson Trust Women’s Centre on Nov. 20, 2024 in Newport, Wales.Dimitris Legakis - WPA Pool/Getty

Dimitris Legakis - WPA Pool/Getty

Meeting him there was Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, a fire chief who was homeless as a teen. She introduced him to several unhoused women privately at a meeting in the city on Wednesday.

“It was a really powerful visit. We visited a provision that is really focused on women’s experience of homelessness,” she says. “As we know, women’s experience of homelessness is very different to men’s — that’s not to diminish men’s experience in any way, shape or form.”

Unhoused women, for example, are more likely to be “hidden” for fear of rough sleeping, a term used for sleeping outside or in places not typically used for sleeping, like cars and abandoned buildings.

“We present differently, so figures are skewed and access to support are skewed,” Cohen-Hatton says. “Women might face exploitation, sexual and domestic violence and the trauma that is wrapped around women’s experience of homelessness. And it needs a different fix.”

Prince William during a visit to Newport to hear about the Homewards Newport local Coalition’s approach to preventing women’s homelessness in the city on Nov. 20, 2024.Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

Prince William spoke to several women during the engagement.

“It’s really powerful to be able to see that. It was a really meaningful visit,” she adds. “He was quite moved. One of the great things about the prince is really manages to put people at ease very quickly. I was able to visit slightly [with them] before the prince arrived. So I saw the nerves initially and then I saw the prince come in and instantly quell those. That’s a skill he has.”

Cohen-Hatton appeared in Prince William’s recent documentaryPrince William: We Can End Homelessness, which premiered late last month. She believes he’ll use what he heard at the Nov. 20 meeting going forward, as “hearing about people’s experiences is able to inform how he can then direct Homewards to help. One of the questions he was asking throughout was how Homewards is making a difference and also how Homewards can help with the pinch points that we miss,” Cohen-Hatton says.

Being in Newport “meant a lot to the women that met him,” she adds. “They were quite nervous beforehand, but what a life experience [it is] for them to meet the prince, who’s interested in hearing their stories. It’s important to reinforce how important it is to humanize people who are experiencing homelessness.”

“When I experienced it, I felt dehumanized on a daily basis, and you feel like you don’t have a sense of worth and you feel like you must deserve the situation you’re in,” she continues. “But actually, to have the prince coming in and listening to your experience, being interested in that and looking at how he can help, I think that is a really powerful place to be.”

Prince William, Prince of Wales during a visit with Homewards Newport to hear about the local coalition’s approach to preventing women’s homelessness in the city, and unveil commitments from local organisations who have pledged their support at The Nelson Trust Women’s Centre on November 20, 2024 in Newport, Wales.Dimitris Legakis - WPA Pool/Getty

Cohen-Hatton has worked with Homewards from its early days — the Prince of Wales launched the initiative in June 2023 — and, as its now more than a year old, “We’re seeing a real sense of momentum,” she tells PEOPLE. “The first year was really important to put in place some solid foundations and get the right people around the table. That was crucial to do. Now, we’re working out what measures of success look like, and that might be very different in the six target locations.”

Those locations include Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.

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“Some of [the] activity is different — and it has to be because it has to be tailored to a local approach. That’s one of the strengths that Homewards brings. It’s very tailored and very individual so that you can put the right focus on the problems you have locally,” Cohen-Hatton says. “I’m really excit[ed] to see what the next few years are going to bring.”

source: people.com