Shared Lives is a national scheme managed in Surrey and surrounding areas by Surrey Choices.
Shared Lives offers a personalised service planned around the needs and interests of a person, by providing them with short or long-term support in a Shared Lives Carer’s own home.
To find the perfect Carer for you, we will match you with someone who has similar interests and wants to help you achieve your own personal goals, no matter how big or small they are.
Shared Lives Carers welcome young people and adults in need of support into their home, family and community life. The types of support that a Shared Lives Carer could provide you with includes:
- Welcoming you into their home
- Providing a break for you and your family
- Giving you additional support to build your skills towards independence
- Taking part in a Shared Dinner where you may cook and eat together with a host
- An emergency Short Break such as when a family member or full time Carer needs to stay in hospital or when you are recovering from a stay in hospital
Your Shared Lives Carer will have full background checks and will receive the training and information that they need to be able to support you. You will also be allocated a Shared Lives Scheme Worker who will remain in regular contact with and your Carer.
The Shared Lives service is registered and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Surrey Choices works closely with CQC, Carers and the people supported by the service to continually develop and improve services. There are opportunities to collaborate with Surrey Choices and to voice your opinion on how to make improvements. Surrey Choices offers a range of other respite options including Short Breaks Banstead and Weekend and Evening Respite.
We are Recruiting Shared Lives Carers
Do you think you could support disabled people to live the lives they choose in their local communities? Become a Shared Lives Carer.
As a Shared Lives Carer, you will be enabling a person who needs additional support to become more independent and confident within their lives and their communities by sharing your home with an adult.
A Shared Lives Carer is matched with a person through finding shared interests, hobbies and more to ensure all individuals are compatible and happy with the match. Depending on how much time Carers can commit, this might be a long-term living arrangement or a short-term break. Carers may just provide occasional respite care, one or two days a week, or a long-term arrangement.
The benefits of becoming a Shared Lives Carer include:
- Getting paid via Surrey Choices depending on the type of care you are offering
- Being self-employed
- Being able to provide care and support from your own home
- Making use of a special tax arrangements for Shared Lives Carers
- Being able to be a Shared Lives Carer alongside other employment
- Being provided with all the information, training and support you require, to enable the person you support to grow and become independent
To find out more about these roles please contact us here.