Prince William homeless?

Could it be? Is it true? Did a member of the Royal Family actually spend a night on a cardboard box sleeping in the streets of London in the middle of Winter?

Yes. It’s true.

Princess Diana is certain to be smiling upon the understanding spirit of her oldest son. Prince William was homeless for a night.

Seyi Obakin, the Chief Executive of Centerpoint in London, a homeless organization that helps those in need, challenged the Prince to leave his comfy palace and experience what it means to be homeless for just one night in the middle of winter. It was a chilly 24 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

Would you do it?

Prince William said:

“I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London’s streets night after night. Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless. Centrepoint’s work – along with many other organizations’ – in tackling these fundamental causes is desperately important if we are ever to end homelessness in this country. I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets.”

It reminds me of my own days on the streets without a place to call my own. I commend the Prince for his efforts to bring awareness to a cause that is very close to my own heart. I tell the story of what happened to me in my book. However, Prince William has now told the world, and reminded us all of the millions around the globe not so fortunate as we.

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Maxine Edney, Centrepoint’s Chief Operations Officer said in a statement:

“Centrepoint is enormously grateful for the support of our patron Prince William who, as this sleep out demonstrates, plays an active role in understanding and supporting youth homelessness and the work we do at Centrepoint.”

She continued:

“Around half of the young people that come to Centrepoint have spent time sleeping on the streets. I hope that by Prince William sleeping out, more people will take the time to consider why young people are vulnerable on the streets, be it family breakdown, poverty or abuse, and help join Centrepoint’s ambition to bring an end to youth homelessness.”

Tonight, right now, there are millions with no food to eat, many haven’t eaten in days. Millions sleeping in the cold on hard concrete streets who deal with issues ranging from mental illness, family abuse to drug dependency. And while there will be those who read this whom might be inclined to think that “People on the streets want to be there.” or “They are there of their own choice.” I ask you to take pause and remind yourself that even though life is a series of important choices, some are forced to play the hand they were dealt.

Prince William never asked to be born a prince.

However, after learning of his courageous efforts to help remind us all that there is still more work to be done, I am certainly glad he was.

Get involved.

If you have ever been homeless? Would you be willing to share your story with us?

Please leave a comment below and tell us what happened to you.