Prince William has called on businesses to support a new initiative which takes advantage of technology and data already used by firms to identify people at risk of homelessness at its earliest stages, when support can have the greatest impact.
The Homelessness Data Lab is a project launched by Homewards, the organisation set up by the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to help tackle homelessness.
In partnership with LandAid and Salesforce, the lab is supported by businesses including Bloomberg, VodafoneThree, Accenture and NatWest Group. Working with government, local authorities and frontline services, the scheme will explore prevention solutions using data and technology already owned by the businesses.
An example is banking data which indicates that someone is experiencing financial difficulties which could lead to homelessness.
The initiative will be piloted in Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland and Sheffield.
The scheme was launched at London Tech Week where Prince William joined a panel hosted by broadcaster Jake Humphrey.
During the event, Prince William said:
“430,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the UK, that’s four times the size of Wembley Stadium. Homelessness is not inevitable, it is entirely preventable, it is predictable.
“You guys in the the tech world are a huge part of the puzzle that has not been there before. We haven’t had the tech at the level we have now and we also haven’t plugged the private sector and tech data into this equation before.
“Homelessness is seen as a gritty, difficult topic, and not many people understand it holistically, because it is very different in different parts of the country. What’s happening in Northern Ireland is not what’s happening in Sheffield. There are threads through all of that as to why people become homeless, and if we can get to these people earlier, we stand a much better chance of allowing them to stay in their homes, their jobs, their communities, and keep their families together.
“You guys have got the answers, and you’ll be able to see those touch points much earlier, to see when someone’s in stress, someone’s going through difficulty. Highlighting them at an earlier stage saves such difficulty, trauma, and pain for everyone involved.
“The sector has been desperately trying to manage this problem for many years, so please look at the Homelessness Data Lab. Please work with the 25 organisations that are already there. Many of you will not realise the potential you have to fix the issue.”