Case Study: Empowering Individuals Through Supported Volunteering
Ever wanted to know what a day as a Shared Lives Carer looks like? Read the story below to find out!
How many times a week do you open up your home to your Shared Lives person?
The young lady I support is with me full time, on a permanent basis.
We would love to hear what a typical day is like for you, can you share with us what you normally do?
We begin our day by me waking up our Shared Lives person. I’ll help her decide on her clothes for the day and we will go downstairs for some breakfast and to make our lunches if we are out during the day time. A typical breakfast for us is a yummy smoothie, made with different fruits and some toast.
On a weekend day, we normally have a relaxed morning together taking this easy. We really enjoy making pancakes for breakfast and whilst eating them decide on what we would like to do together over the weekend. I give some ideas to help her think of thinks we could do, and she will choose out of what we both had mutually agreed we would like to do. This will always involve a dog walk!
How do you decide on what to have for meals?
When we are choosing what to have for lunch or dinner, I encourage our Shared Lives person to think about what she would like to eat and to choose healthy options. She sometimes finds decision making difficult and so I often give her a few different options to narrow down to one meal. By doing this, I am slowly helping her to be able to make decisions and become a little bit more independent.
What sort of things do you do in the evening?
We will enjoy a delicious dinner and clean up afterwards together. After assisting her with a bath or shower, we will wind down together watching the television or doing some reading. We both go to bed at the same time and I will carry on reading.
What is your favourite part of the day?
On quiet days, I love our lazy mornings. We both have a cup of tea in bed and can see each other across the hall way. We will get up and have a nice breakfast, and normally go for a walk if the weather is suitable.
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