Prince William visits Spiral Skills in Lambeth to champion youth-led prevention
We were honoured to welcome Prince William to Spiral Skills at our new home in Oasis Village, Tulse Hill. His visit highlighted the power of community led approaches to tackling youth homelessness and the difference our young people are making every day.
Founded in 2015, Spiral Skills gives underserved 14 to 25 year olds the tools, skills and opportunities they need to thrive. Through early intervention, career coaching, employability workshops and access to services, we help break cycles of exclusion and unemployment in our community.
With support from the Homewards Fund, we have joined a multi agency prevention hub at Oasis Village. Bringing services together under one roof means young people can access holistic, joined-up support in one accessible space. The funding has also allowed us to grow our team and create new facilities, including a wellbeing room.
During his visit, Prince William joined a creative workshop with Young Creators UK, an agency run and owned by underrepresented young people. Spiral Skills refers young people to their projects and training, showing how collaboration within the hub works in practice. Alongside Homewards Advocate Fara Williams MBE, The Prince heard how these opportunities have built skills, confidence and creativity.
The Homewards Fund has also strengthened our Changemaker programme. Changemakers are young people with lived experience of homelessness who, after support from Spiral Skills, are now trained as youth workers. They deliver outreach across estates, schools and community spaces — meeting young people where they are and providing early support.
One of our Changemakers, Abdoul, put it best:
“Working together creates the best outcome for young people. As Changemakers, we’re bridging the gap between young people and those who can help them further. Working with Spiral and Homewards feels like being part of a village, a collective effort of support.”
The need is urgent. In 2023 to 2024, young people aged 16 to 24 made up nearly one in five (19%) of all those assessed as homeless or at risk of homelessness in Lambeth. By equipping young people early with skills, confidence and opportunity, we can create lasting pathways into education, training and work.
As our CEO Joel Balkwill said:
“We were thrilled to receive the support of the Homewards Fund, which has been vital in launching our skills hub. Finding funders brave enough to back new ideas is tough, but together with Homewards Lambeth we are transforming access to opportunity for our most underserved young people.”
Prince William’s visit was a moment of recognition not only for Spiral Skills, but for the partners, funders and young people who make this work possible. By investing in lived experience, local leadership and collaborative models of support, Homewards is demonstrating that it is possible to end homelessness – making it rare, brief and unrepeated.
