Types of Shared Lives services

Shared Lives South West delivers a range of different Shared Lives services.  Here is a brief description of each type of service.  Not all services are available in every area.

Long term services

The opportunity to live with a Shared Lives carer on a long term basis, to maintain and/or expand independence and choice and enabling people to make full use of their local community. We have over 200 individual Shared Lives households offering long term Shared Lives places.

Short breaks

Regular or one off short breaks that are fun, skills enhancing and enjoyable for the service user and can offer a family carer a much needed respite break ranging from a day time break to long weekends right up to a 28 day stay. Short breaks are also used to enable service users to try out Shared Lives before moving in somewhere on a long term basis.  Over 100 of our carers offer short breaks.

Day support

Many of our Shared Lives carers can offer day time support to people in the family home and out and about doing activities in the community.

Shared support and care arrangements

We can offer a service where someone might need accommodation and support for part of the year, for example during school holidays, or where a long handover from a family carer into our service is required.

Transition services

We can work with agencies to plan a transition into our service for a young person approaching adulthood (from the age of 16) either by assessing and approving their current foster carer as shared lives carers or by finding a new match with one of our carers with experience in supporting young people into independence.