Prince William spends night on the streets
December 23, 2009
In an effort to better understand that problems facing Britain’s homeless population Prince William elected to spend a night sleeping rough in London. The prince is patron of the homeless charity Centrepoint and was invited by Seyi Obakin, the charity’s chief executive to see for himself what it is like for those who have nowhere else to go and are forced to camp out on London’s streets. Mr. Obakin said that he was more than a little surprised when William leapt at the chance of understanding better what it meant to be without a home in London. The Prince along with his private secretary and Mr. Obakin spent the night under Blackfriars Bridge on cardboard boxes surrounded by wheelie bins.
After the experience Prince William said that he still could not come close to comprehending what it must be like for someone who has to sleep outside night after night. He went on to praise the work of homeless charities such as Centrepoint saying that their efforts were essential if the problem of homelessness was ever going to be beaten. The prince also laid down a challenge to the charity to end homelessness within the next ten years.
Mr. Obakin said that although the group had taken every precaution to protect the heir to the throne there was no way of protecting him from the freezing cold or the fear that they might be attacked. He said that at one point they were almost run over by a road-sweeper. Chief operations officer at Centrepoint, Maxine Edney said that the charity was extremely proud to have William as their patron.
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