Shelterpods for Homeless Support

Aim: Creating safe, warm Shelterpods to offer dignified overnight accommodation for people experiencing homelessness

A Warm Pod, A Safe Night: Help Us Shelter the Homeless

The Morning I Couldn't Forget 

his project didn't start with spreadsheets; it started with a cold, harsh reality check on a rainy January morning in Hendon, West London. On my way to work, I saw a man huddled on a bench, soaked through, clearly trying to survive the night outdoors. I offered him a coffee; he quietly refused. I carried on, but the image stuck with me.

Just a couple of hours later, flashing blue lights stopped me in my tracks. Paramedics were performing CPR on the same man. Despite their efforts, and the desperate attempts of a police officer before them, it was too late. He had passed away.

When I asked how, the answer hit me hard: exposure. His body temperature had dropped fatally low after facing freezing temperatures and driving rain all night. The paramedics told me this wasn't unusual – people refuse help sometimes, and tragically, there often isn't a safe, warm bed available for everyone anyway.

Knowing that someone could freeze to death on our streets, just lacking a simple, safe refuge... that absolutely shook me. It felt fundamentally wrong. I couldn’t just walk past anymore. That day, the idea for ShelterPods was born – not just as a concept, but as an urgent necessity.

Key Features:

• Warm & Weatherproof: Built using a robust GRP (fiberglass) sandwich panel construction with 60mm PIR foam insulation to retain heat effectively, even in winter. Fully weatherproof exterior.
• Secure: A solid structure featuring a robust electronic coded keypad lock and electronic bolts that ensures personal safety and security for belongings overnight. (No windows enhance security).
• Fully Self-Sufficient: Integrated 200w flexible solar panels, internal power supply an internal low-energy LED light, a ventilation fan (essential for air quality), and a convenient USB A+C charging port.
• Dignified: Offers a private, personal space (~2m long x 0.76m wide  bigger than a single mattress internally, with height to sit up) allowing for restful sleep off the cold ground.
• Practical: Designed for easy transport and placement by partner charities and councils.

Our Vision: Beyond Just Shelter

Our immediate goal is to get ShelterPods deployed here in London Boroughs to start with, working directly with homeless charities and local councils. We plan to rent the pods to them at an affordable, sustainable rate to cover operations & maintenance and to manufacture more pods to provide immediate relief.

But the vision extends further:

Expand across the UK, providing a network of safe overnight spaces.Partner with Festivals & Events to offer secure, comfortable accommodation – generating commercial revenue that will directly help subsidise and expand our social mission.Develop capacity to offer pods for Emergency & Disaster Relief, providing rapid shelter solutions during crises.

Why We Need Your Help & Our £18,000 Goal

We've poured countless hours into research and design. We have our material specifications confirmed, costings calculated based on UK suppliers, and a clear manufacturing plan using vacuum infusion for quality and efficiency. We know this pod can make a difference based on the clear need we've seen first-hand.

Now, we need your support to take the critical next step: bringing ShelterPods into production.

Our Crowdfunding Target: £18,000

This crucial funding will be used specifically and only to achieve this essential first milestone:

• To create the specialist moulds – the essential tools we need to start building ShelterPods efficiently and consistently.

These moulds are the key we need to unlock efficient manufacturing. Reaching this £18,000 target means we can commission the tooling, start building the very first ShelterPods, and get them deployed to provide safe, warm nights for people sleeping rough, potentially as early as this coming winter.

Every pound pledged brings us closer to creating these vital spaces. Your support helps build the pods that will provide this crucial lifeline – offering warmth, security, and dignity, aiming for a sustainable operational model supported by partnerships

Funding method

All or nothing – this project will only receive pledges if it reaches its target of £18,000 by 11th July 2025 at 2:40pm