On 2026-10-09, Prince William and Princess Kate arrived at The Commons, a renovated community centre in South Belfast, after dodging rain showers. They were greeted by Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Belfast Mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly. The visit marked the start of a one‑day trip to Northern Ireland.
They toured the facility, which houses local craft groups, and met with its directors, David and Jill Hines.
A central focus of the tour was the New Employment Opportunities Network (Neon), part of William’s Homewards programme aimed at reducing homelessness. Neon aims to bring together businesses with the community and voluntary sector to prevent homelessness by supporting employment.
” He also remarked, “everyone thinks it’s just a one size fits all problem, it’s just ‘more houses that’ll fix it’, and it’s not.
During the visit, Prince William stressed that homelessness cannot be solved with a single approach. He said, “If nothing else from Homewards we need to make sure that point comes across very strongly, that every region of the UK has massively different ways and problems to tackle homelessness.” He also remarked, “everyone thinks it’s just a one size fits all problem, it’s just ‘more houses that’ll fix it’, and it’s not.”
The brief highlighted the scale of the challenge in Northern Ireland: 42 percent of care leavers experience homelessness within their first two years after leaving care, and two‑thirds have faced homelessness at some point.
William also noted that employers generally want to help but often lack the know‑how. He said, “I always think that employers want to help, they just sometimes don’t know how to help, and you guys are unlocking those tools.”
The royal couple’s schedule included a meeting with the chairs of Neon, reinforcing the partnership between the Homewards initiative and local leaders. After a day of engagements, the visit ended, leaving the community centre’s supporters with a renewed focus on tailored, employment‑based strategies to combat homelessness.