**THREAD** As a child, Princess Diana would take her sons to Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity.She knew how important it was for both Princes William and Harry to see not everyone has the same lifestyle as they have and so many are struggling to get by.

September 13, 2005, Prince WIlliam was named patron of Centrepoint; this would be his first patron. Taking on this role Prince William knew how important it was to his mother, and that he would be keeping her work alive. Centrepoint quoted that “He even helped young people

directly when he spent two days volunteering in our accommodation services. Working with young people to discuss their situation, review personal development plans, sort out their housing benefit claims and find more permanent accommodation, William used his special way of

connecting with people from all backgrounds, making them feel at ease.” Back in 2008, to mark Centrepoints 40th anniversary Prince William attended and met with young people. During his speech, he spoke about visiting with his mother and said “that example of selfless service

that Centrepoint represents has stayed with me, and that is why it was the first charity that I wanted to be associated with. He also said he had witnessed, first hand, the extraordinary courage of so many of Centrepoint’s young people in rising to meet such seemingly

insurmountable challenges in lives” December 2009, Prince William wanted to get a better understanding so he decided to take on a personal challenge and with Centrepoints CEO, Seyi Obakin they slept outside on the streets of London in temperatures as low as -4C. Prince WIlliam

is quoted as saying 'I was very struck by the people I met and what they were struggling with sleeping rough, sofa surfing, not having basic comforts a lot of us take for granted. That really struck me at a young age, bearing in mind the gulf for me, growing up in a palace,

and seeing the other end of the spectrum where others were faced with huge personal challenges and were overcoming them. That was powerful to see at a young age.'
Each year Centrepoint continues to help over 15,000 homeless youth offering many different programs that are

available. They want to ensure that they are leaving an impact on each person they help. It is said that “Prince William’s support as a dedicated and ambitious Patron has constantly challenged us to do everything we can to ensure that each young person affected by homelessness

succeeds in their journey to overcome it.”