Shared Lives South West (SLSW) is celebrating 20 years of supporting carers who provide safe, secure homes and the love and stability that family life can offer to adults and young people who are not able to live on their own.
Working with Cornwall Council, the Shared Lives service can provide long-term support, a short break service or an alternative to traditional day services.
It also encourages people to maintain or learn skills to become as independent as they can.
They currently support over 120 carers in Cornwall who in turn, support 115 people to live as independently as possible.
One such carer is Tracey Chase, who supports Gillian and Chanroth and her son to live with her and her family in Redruth.
Tracey said: “You open your home, they become part of your family. You support them, you encourage them. You give them the opportunity to become the best person they can be.
“We get the pleasure of seeing it happen. It’s hard work but the pleasure of seeing Gillian become independent, for Chanroth, learning to cook, learning to care for her son. It’s really rewarding.”
Cornwall Council cabinet lead for adult social care and health, Cllr Andy Virr said: “It’s been brilliant to meet Tracey, Gillian and Chanroth. It’s clear to see how much they are thriving through the loving support of Tracey.
“Shared Lives is a service that fits with our aim to give people the right care, in the right place, at the right time. As Tracey, Chanroth and Gillian have demonstrated, it can really work well for all of the people involved and I would urge people to get in touch if they think they would benefit from this sort of arrangement.”
CEO of SLSW, Dominic Spayne said: “Shared Lives is person-centred, and is affordable in comparison to the other forms of care and support. It provides a unique opportunity for a carer to build a relationship with someone with support needs and have a meaningful impact on their lives.
“We provide support monitoring, regular training, help with access to other services, along with making sure people are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to, so that the carer can get on with providing the support to the people they care for.
“We are always looking for more Shared Lives carers and I would say, if you are interested, don’t be daunted. It might seem like a leap of faith to begin with but there is lots of support and guidance, with a very comprehensive training and assessment process to get you on board.
“We have over 120 carers in Cornwall and I would say that all of them would report that they get immense sense of satisfaction from the effect that they are having on people’s lives.”
To find out more about Shared Lives then please visit the Shared Lives South West website for more information.