'It's a great feeling to know you've changed lives and helped'
People who've opened their homes across Devon, Somerset and Cornwall have been sharing their stories as part of Shared Lives Week
A Devon-based charity - which already supports 450 people in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset - is looking for more residents to open their homes.
Shared Lives South West, based in Kingsteignton, supports 280 carers across the three counties and is using Shared Lives Week to encourage more people to consider joining and helping those with learning disabilities, autism, mental health conditions, or age-related illnesses such as dementia.
Chief Exec Dominic Spayne said: "We match the person to the carer so that they have similar interests and so the carer is able to support the person.
"They could be doing anything; they could be helping them with independence skills like cooking and cleaning or they could help them with learning to use public transport or with access to day services or community.”
Mr Spayne says the service offers a range of benefit for the people involved, hosts and wider taxpayer, adding: “As I think everyone is aware, social care is really struggling at the moment and there's lots of people in the community that aren't getting the support that they need and as we all know the local authorities are really struggling financially and so there's a big pressure on providers to be able to expand and do more and we know that 'shared lives' is a fantastic model of care."
Host Julie Hughes, from Paignton, said: "It's a bit like ‘match.com’, shared lives coordinators come out and spend time with you and they matched us with this young lady and she was with us for 11 years and arrived completely dependent and now, say 14 years on, she lives independently and works for the NHS and is thriving we're so proud.
"Even now we keep in touch with her, she'll come for tea occasionally and we see her out and about in Paignton. She's done amazing and it's a great feeling to feel that you've gone and helped her towards that.
"Our daughter was quite young when we started doing Shared Lives and so she grew up living with a person with learning disabilities and quite a few others and we’ve gone through the years - and it's given her a wider perspective too."
Husband Tom added: "20 odd years we've done it now and it really has been good fun.
“We're easy going, sometimes little mistakes happen with the people we look after or something is said wrong and we quickly get over it.
"We get on with our lives, they get on with theirs - it is what it is - it's shared lives. They enjoy our experiences and we enjoy their experiences.”
Nick Higgins, from Sidmouth has been a Shared Lives Carer for 15 years and currently supports Kevin in his home and also regularly opens his home to people using Shared Lives short break services.
“Anyone who has the right values and attitude can become a Shared Lives Carer and it’s so flexible,” said Nick.
“There’s no typical day,” he said. “One man I support needs help with his health, so I check in with how he’s doing and pick him up from work. The other goes to a day placement and enjoys being outdoors, especially in the garden.
“We love eating together and talking about what’s going on that day and in the world. We also enjoy walking the dogs and are busy in our village community.
“We go to coffee mornings and the guys we support come to them, we go to lunch and we are always out and about.”
“It focuses on what the person’s needs are and how that fits in with the day. We aren’t driven by the clock and the people who live with us become part of our big family.”
Shared Lives South West has a contract for its services with Devon County Council and works closely with the local authority.
Cllr Richard Keeling, Devon County Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for Adults Services, said: "The service provides a real 'family home' alternative to supported living or residential care.
“I would like to encourage people who have a spare room, and who would like to make a real difference to someone's life - to help them live their best life - to consider becoming a Shared Lives South West Carer."
There's more details here www.sharedlivessw.org.uk