Roles and responsibilities

Shared Lives carers come from many different backgrounds. Some have worked in health or social care and have professional qualifications. Others bring valuable life experience. You do not need to have worked in care before, as long as you are willing to learn.

As a Shared Lives carer, you help people live happy, independent lives.

By welcoming someone into your home and sharing everyday life with them, you create a safe and friendly place where they feel included and valued. You empower them to make their own choices about their life, including how they decorate their room and spend their time.

If you have a spare room, you could become a Shared Lives carer.

Some of your responsibilities as a Shared Lives carer include:

• providing a healthy and safe home
• balancing the needs and lifestyles of everyone in your household
• understanding and respecting the confidentiality and rights to privacy of the people you support
• building positive relationships with the people you support and the important people in their lives
• supporting people to be independent in all aspects of day-to-day life
• following relevant policies and procedures outlined by the Shared Lives scheme and CQC, including regular meetings with the Shared Lives worker
• maintaining required training and learning needed to be a Shared Lives carer

This is not a full list of the responsibilities of a Shared Lives carer.

If you provide long-term accommodation, it is important to make time for yourself and your family as well as supporting the person living with you. Short breaks help with this.

During a short break, the person you support stays with another approved Shared Lives carer for a short time. This gives everyone a chance to recharge while making sure the person continues to receive safe and supportive care.

You can find out more about the different types of support available.