Prince William Sleeps on Streets for Charity

Royal seeks better understanding of homeless issue
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 23, 2009 1:18 AM CST
Prince William Sleeps on Streets for Charity
Prince William meets with young people supported by the charity Centrepoint on the charity's 40th anniversary in London earlier this month.   (AP Photo//Luke MacGregor, Pool)

Prince William has spent a night sleeping under a bridge in London in freezing temperatures as part of his work supporting a charity for the homeless. The prince, his private secretary and the head of the Centerpoint charity for young homeless people bedded down in sleeping bags on top of cardboard, the BBC reports. The prince answered a challenge to sleep on the streets, saying he would do so if the charity would double its efforts to help the homeless.

"I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night," the prince said after his experience. "Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless. I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets." (More homeless stories.)

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