Shared Lives Plus is a national scheme designed to enable adults with care and support needs to experience an ordinary life with real relationships by living with a carer and their family.

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The scheme is highly personalised, relying on achieving a match between the individual requiring support and the Shared Lives Carer who wishes to support them.

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Traditionally, Shared Lives has been a service for adults with learning disabilities who are matched with individuals and families to live in a long-term arrangement.  It is also suitable for shorter stays, such as weekend visits, in order to give family carers a break.

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Increasingly, however, Shared Lives is also used for people with a range of disabilities or vulnerability, as well as for older people.

Positive Steps Shropshire are highly experienced in delivering the Shared Lives service, and we work closely with local authorities, partners and carers to provide full training and support.

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Becoming a Shared Lives Carer

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Shared Lives carers open their homes to support adults with care and support needs, on a long-term, replacement and transition placement basis.

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Becoming a Shared Lives carer has many benefits; it’s a flexible and interesting role undertaken on a self-employed basis, which provides great opportunities for skills development and the chance to operate within a supportive team.

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Above all, being a Shared Lives carer means you could make a significant and positive difference to the lives of the people you support. Your support can provide people with an improved quality of life and the opportunity to live in a family environment, as well as the chance to form warm friendships, gain new life experiences and benefit from social inclusion throughout the community.

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Shared Lives carers can also provide a better service for people than traditional forms of care because they are able to offer consistent, continuous and personalised support. Shared Lives carers are carefully selected and trained by Positive Steps Shropshire.

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To be considered as a potential Shared Lives carer, you’ll need to have a spare room available and the time to offer a vulnerable or elderly person the care and support they need. Before any placements are confirmed, all Shared Lives carers who apply through Positive Steps Shropshire are required to register with Shared Lives Plus, the organisation representing the interests of all those involved in Shared Lives.

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For more information, please get in touch with our team through the Contact page, or if you’d like to formally apply, please click on the link below.

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Positive Steps Shropshire Ltd as a shared lives provider is inspected by the Care Quality Commission who will produce a report on the findings of the service. Please see www.cqc.org.uk