Shared Lives Carer

Do you have a room in your home and room in your heart? Could you share your home with someone who needs your support? Shared Lives Carers open up their home and support adults with additional/complex needs on either a Live-In, Short-Break or Day Support basis. Shared Lives is sometimes described as a bit like 'foster care for adults' but it’s so much more than that. The Carer encourages the person to not only become part of the family and provide a sense of belonging, but also to create a life of new opportunities, of which the person would otherwise have limited chances to experience.

The aim of the Shared Lives Carer is to always support the person to develop the practical, social and emotional skills to make their own choices in life and be as independent as possible, whilst remaining at the heart of the community. You will support the person who comes to live or stay with you to develop these skills. If you are currently looking for a change of direction or career change, or are already working as a support worker or care assistant in domiciliary or residential care and are passionate about supporting people more flexibly in the community, then Shared Lives could be for you.

You want to become a meaningful part of someone’s life and be able to support them in all their activities. You have a passion for helping others live a fulfilling and interesting life. You would like the opportunity to take part in wider social events and celebrations and access existing resources, as well as connecting to a wealth of support and friendships.

Shared Lives Carers provide support to the person on either a Live-In (permanent), Short Breaks (overnight or weekends) or Day-Opportunities (morning or afternoon sessions) basis. They are very passionate about the work they do; they are extremely creative in how they support the person achieve greater independence, but above all else they don’t make assumptions about people just because of the labels they may have been given.

It doesn’t matter if you are employed, not working or retired, you can still be a Shared Lives Carer. You don’t need any qualifications or experience of working in the care sector (though it can help), all you need is the right values, dedication and of course a spare room. Your age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, marital status, or living situation are not barriers - your passion and values matter most. Key personal qualities include patience, flexibility, creativity, understanding, and open-mindedness. Good communication skills are important for working with professionals and families. A clean, safe, and welcoming spare room is essential (permission from your landlord is required if you rent). You will need to be over 18 years of age, be able to read and write English and be committed to undertaking training and supervision for the continued development of your role.

About Shared Lives: Shared Lives is sometimes described as being similar to providing 'foster care for adults with additional/complex needs', but it is so much more than that as we enable people to take control of their lives and make informed choices to maximise independence. There are approximately 9,500 adults being supported by around 10,000 Carers in Shared Lives households across England. Shared Lives is beneficial for everyone. As well as consistently achieving greater outcomes for adults with additional needs, Shared Lives also has the lowest number of safeguarding enquiries in comparison to all other forms of Adult Social Care.

We support anybody from the age of 18 and will undertake preparatory work with young adults who are making the transition from Children’s Services. Whilst Shared Lives is traditionally a service for people with learning disabilities, we have experience of setting up arrangements for people with mental ill health, early-onset dementia, hospital discharges, older people, physical disabilities, people on the Autistic Spectrum and other complex support needs.

As a Shared Lives Carer, you can be paid £700+ per week or pro-rata depending on the level of support you provide to the adult who comes to stay with you. Through HMRC, you will have self-employed status and therefore qualify for tax relief for each person you support.

Benefits include life cover for all employees, an employee assistance programme with 24/7 helpline for advice and support, contributions to a pension scheme, annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year plus statutory bank and national holidays, and free parking at most communities.