The Prince of Wales is in Northern Ireland for a surprise visit as he continues his work to combat homelessness.
He has scheduled two engagements during his flying visit.
He is visiting Ulster University’s new Belfast campus where he will meet Irish Goodbye actor James Martin to discuss the growing success of the creative sector in NI.
His first earlier engagement, in Belfast, focused on his homelessness work.
While at Ulster University William will hear about the “work that is being carried out to solidify Northern Ireland as a global leader of creative excellence and innovation by developing and upskilling the future workforce and expanding technological capabilities”.
Through its Ulster Screen Academy, the university provides creative industries training via community outreach and grassroots connections.
He is expected to join a training workshop with young people from two local community groups who are being taught by the Ulster Screen Academy to operate software used in the creation of games, animation and virtual production.
He will also visit the university’s state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio to meet students who are developing their skillsets in virtual production.
Earlier this year, the university launched Studio Ulster, a ground-breaking £72m, large-scale studio complex in Belfast, which is being delivered by Ulster University and supported by Belfast Harbour and Northern Ireland Screen.
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William’s first stop was at The Foyer, which provides temporary accommodation and support services for young people experiencing homelessness.
It is run by the Simon Community charity, part of the Homewards Northern Ireland Coalition and part of the Prince’s UK-wide Homewards initiative.
The Simon Community delivers programmes aimed at preventing and ending homelessness for young people leaving care – a group that the Homewards Northern Ireland Coalition has identified as a priority group.
During his visit to The Foyer, the met young people to hear about their individual journeys and to understand the support they have received.
The Prince also met practitioners to discuss some of the work currently being delivered in Northern Ireland to support young people leaving care, and the role Homewards can play in shining a light on what is working, expand and scale these support services, and develop new solutions.
Today’s visit is the Prince’s first to the city since June 2023, when he toured the UK to promote his Homewards initiative.
Innovative housing projects are being established in each of the six Homewards locations to test new ways to unlock homes at scale for those who are experiencing, or on the brink of experiencing homelessness.
Research indicates that a third of people with care experience in the UK become homeless within the first two years of exiting the care system.
And 25% of all people who have experienced homelessness have been in care at some point during their childhood.
Young people with lived experience of care can become homeless for many reasons including being unable to access affordable housing, the lack of a support network, and the impact of childhood trauma.
In Northern Ireland, approximately 140 young people each year leave care and present as homeless. Although this is a minority of those leaving care, we need to better understand why this is happening, and what can be done to prevent it.
The Prince recently described the past year as “brutal” and “probably the hardest year of my life” as he dealt with his wife and father battling cancer.
In a video interview during the beginning of his visit to Cape Town in South Africa for the Earthshot price awards ceremony he said: “Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he said.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.
“But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
The visit came the same day the prince was crowned world’s sexiest bald man for the second year in a row, beating huge movie stars to top spot.
A study by PR agency Reboot Online placed William ahead of Hollywood A-listers including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Stanley Tucci, Thierry Henry, and Vin Diesel.
In 2022 the Prince and Princess of Wales made a one-day trip to Northern Ireland where they visited charities and community organisations, including suicide prevention charity PIPS in north Belfast.
It was their first visit since receiving their royal titles following the accession of King Charles III.
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News Catch Up – Thursday 14th November