Bedfordian Emma Bradley and her husband Phil have been speaking about what it means to be Shared Lives carers, who share their home and family life with adults with learning disabilities.
Emma said: “I had never heard of Shared Lives until I came across it when working for the Council. Then a role came up as a Shared Lives Officer, which I applied for, and was appointed to.
“As part of that, I was going out on placements, monitoring them, and seeing these lovely people who welcomed others into their families and homes.
“They made these adults part of their own families, and it made me realise – I could do it too.”
The Shared Lives Bedford service offers three main types of support:
Short breaks
Offering a supportive and enjoyable stay within a safe home. This works best when the person stays with a Shared Lives carer regularly, getting to know them and their family.
Short breaks can allow service-users to make new friends, try new experiences, learn new skills, and become more independent.
Short breaks can be anything from an overnight stay through to a few weeks away like a holiday.
Long-term placements
Offering the chance to live with Shared Lives carers and/or their families on a long-term basis. This offers an alternative to supported living or residential homes.
Short session
This can include doing something different to a service user’s usual daycare, such as going to the cinema, pub, or a local sporting event.
They can learn a new skill, get help with appointments, go swimming or to the gym. It can be almost anything, as long as they and the carer are safe.
Emma currently has six people who join the family, some every month and others with a more ad-hoc arrangement organised by Emma, Phil, and the service users’ parents and carers.
Explaining what their stays look like, Emma added, “A lot of it is just normal day-to-day life, being at home, playing games like cards or Uno or chess, watching films, or going out on the river.
“It’s not about planning big activities it’s about making them part of our lives. It’s a break for them, and it’s a break for their families too.”
To find out more about Shared Lives head to Bedford Borough Council’s website.
