MEMBERS of a programme being spearheaded by the Prince of Wales aiming to end homelessness in Newport have spoken about the biggest changes they have seen one year in. 

Spearheaded by the prince and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, Homewards aims to be a transformative five-year programme that will demonstrate that by working collaboratively across all areas of society it is possible to end homelessness in the UK, making it rare, brief and unrepeated.

In addition to delivering real and tangible impact in each of the six places across the UK where it is operating, Homewards aims to use findings from each location to create a tried-and-tested model that can be adopted by other areas of the UK and internationally.

The programme also aspired to change the narrative around homelessness, providing hope that it can be ended. 

Within Newport, female homelessness has become the focus. 

Homewards' Helen Roper said the perception of female homelessness as something that couldn't be improved has begun to change within the last few months. 

"For me, the main difference for a long time was just having the right people together and seeing that change in perception that actually we can do something about it and we can make a real change," she told the Argus. 

"We can move forward to potentially a place where we might be able to eradicate homelessness, we can do something different for women experiencing it, and that belief generates action." 

Niki Gould of the Nelson Trust, which opened a few months ago in the city, said they were seeing lots of women coming to get the support they need. 

She said: "If you look at the drivers of female homelessness, many of them stem from traumatic experiences. As a service provider, it's important that we are able to respond to that and provide the support they really need in a safe women-only space."

The Nelson Trust is about addressing women's needs as a whole, as homelessness is often "not in isolation". 

She added: "We're able to work really well together and bring in other organisations to work collectively to help these women, and that's worked really well so far."