Parliament event hears benefits of pop-up NAPpad accommodation
published on 14 Jul 2025

Members of Parliament were invited to hear more about the transformational impact of The Salvation Army’s NAPpad, pop-up style accommodation that provides a temporary place to stay for people who have been sleeping on the streets, at a special event held at Westminster.
MPs heard from Tony and Thomas, who had both stayed in the NAPpad after experiencing homelessness then moved on to being housed and employed.
The Parliament event was hosted by Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, where the NAPpad was initially piloted. MPs attending also heard from Pete Wood, owner of Protectal, the manufacturer who design and make NAPpads, Amber Sylvester, Development Manager for the church and charity’s Homelessness Services and Charlie Malarkey, Service Manager of York’s Early Intervention and Prevention Project, which provides support to people experiencing homelessness.
The NAPpad is made up of four individual units, each equipped with a toilet, sink, heating, a bed, duvet, and innovative sensor technology which detects if someone stops breathing, alerting staff to emergencies and giving responders vital minutes to save a life.

Speaking of his time in the NAPpad, Tony told MPs: “It’s not just about knowing someone’s watching over you, it’s knowing someone cared enough to put something in place to keep you safe—that’s what gave me peace of mind. For the first time in ages, I could sleep through the night without worrying about danger. That gave me the mental space to decide to make a change.”
Thomas added: “It’s not a solution to homelessness, but it’s a critical step between crisis and stability. If this had been available to me a year earlier, it would’ve saved the local authority a fortune in emergency accommodation and support and it would’ve got me off the streets a year sooner.”
Amber Sylvester said: “We are grateful to Rachael Maskell MP for helping organise this event, where we were able to share the positive impact of the NAPpad pilot with MPs who showed a real interest in what can be done to help tackle homelessness.
“The NAPpad provides dignified sanctuary from the streets for people experiencing homelessness. With the support of our staff, they act as a stepping stone to help people move into more permanent accommodation and tackle the issues that led to them becoming homeless in the first place.
“The Salvation Army is seeking to work with local authorities, charities and agencies to help fund and roll the NAPpad out to more locations across the UK.”

Protectal’s Pete Wood, who led on the NAPpad design, said: “It’s a credit to operators like Charlie Malarkey and his team in York. We designed the units to be safe and simple, but what we learned through deployments was incredible. People supported each other, cooking, cleaning, reducing substance use. Tony and Thomas are living proof of what’s possible when you combine compassion, good design, and a bit of courage.”
Inside each NAPpad is vytalsign, a non-invasive radar-based sensor that discreetly monitors vital signs like breathing and heartbeat, alerting staff in emergencies without disturbing or surveilling occupants. Originally developed to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and staff alike, vytalsign has since evolved into Safe Air, a home-monitoring platform that tracks indoor environmental conditions helping respond to health inequalities linked to poor housing conditions.
The pilot scheme in York saw more than three quarters of NAPpad residents move on to other accommodation having been supported by Charlie and the outreach team. The Salvation Army also has a NAPpad operational in St Helens in the North West.