Shared lives scheme

Shared Lives offers a community based alternative to other forms of care for people that need support.  This page will provide you with more information if you feel you would benefit from the Shared Lives scheme or would like to become a Shared Lives carer.

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Shared Lives scheme

The Shared Lives scheme arranges accommodation and support to vulnerable adults in the homes of carefully chosen people living in the community. Shared Lives service users reside and are supported in the homes of our Shared Lives carers and live as a member of their family. Shared Lives promotes independence and encourages service users to grow and be members of the community.

Shared Lives can be in the form of short breaks (like respite care) or long term arrangements where someone will stay with the family for potentially many years.

Who can apply

The Shared Lives service is open to anyone who is over the age of 18 and requires support from another person in their day to day lives. The level of support required can range from people who need constant support to people who just need to know there is someone around. Our service users are people with mental health illness, physical impairment, older people and people with learning disabilities or brain injury.  To be referred for the Shared Lives service you will need to be assessed by a Social Worker.  Contact the Customer Services duty desk for more information.

Ategi is the name of the organisation that provides the Shared Lives scheme in South Gloucestershire.  For further information see their contact details below.

Becoming a Shared Lives carer

Ategi aims to provide high quality, individual support to people within the ordinary homes of carefully chosen and trained Shared Lives carers.

Anyone can become a Shared Lives carer: single people, couples, families with or without children can all apply to support someone in their own home. All we ask is that you have a spare room (for the service user to live in) and that you have the desire and time to care for someone.

All of our Shared Lives carers are assessed and DBS checked. Ategi provide full, comprehensive training to all of our carers as well as ongoing support to people who become carers. Ategi carefully match service users and carers to be compatible with each party’s requirements and limitations.  Shared Lives carers can choose to offer a long term arrangement for someone, short breaks or even a combination of these.

Shared Lives carers will receive payment whenever someone is staying with them. The amounts will vary depending on the kind of support that is provided. They will also have a named scheme co-ordinator employed by Ategi who will provide ongoing support and will regularly check how things are.

For further information on how to become a Shared Lives carer or apply for the scheme see the Ategi website or contact them on the following: