Kent Shared Lives’ Carers help adults with assessed care and support needs by offering them a place to stay or live and receive support.

This could include people with learning and physical disabilities, mental health issues, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sensory impairment, older people or those living with dementia.

The scheme is already transforming lives, but with more carers it could change even more lives.

Take, for example, Duncan, who was living in supported living. With the service set to be closed, his social worker referred him to Deb, who had worked with him for more than 15 years and was able to continue to support him by working from home as a Shared Lives carer.

Shared Lives visited Deb and her husband Tony shortly after receiving their application and quickly established that they were fully on board with the assessment process, training requirements, and the ongoing monitoring and support needed. They were assessed and approved.

After learning that his home was to close, Duncan had become distressed and was admitted to hospital. But when he heard that he was able to move in with Deb and Tony, he started to recover, and Deb worked with the hospital teams to get him fit enough to be discharged.

After moving in, his health improved, he started regaining his independence, going out and about locally, singing and playing an organ at a local residential home, going Christmas shopping, planning holidays and even starting to make plans to visit his brother in California.

When Shared Lives visited in 2023, Duncan told them he was planning a Christmas party with previous residents. He said the best thing about living with Deb and Tony is that he’s happy and he has lots of fun.

Deb’s advice to anyone thinking about being a Shared Lives Carer is “just do it” and “I wish I had done it years ago”. She said that working from home gives her a much better work/life balance, getting to see her friends and family more, adding that “seeing the change in Duncan is the most rewarding thing”.

There are three types of service a carer can offer. Kent County Council, which runs the scheme, is currently recruiting for long term and short breaks carers. These include:

- Long term - where an adult would move in and your home would become their home.
- Short breaks - where an adult would stay for one or two nights, a weekend or a few weeks with the carer, based on what’s needed.
- Day support - one session lasting up to five hours based at the carer's home or out and about in the community.

Click here to register your interest in becoming a carer, and to receive information and an application.

For more information about how to become a Shared Lives carer, call 03000 412400, email sharedlives@kent.gov.uk or visit www.kent.gov.uk/sharedlives