The adults that need support have very different needs & to reflect this, there are many different types of Shared Lives Carers. The Shared Lives Worker will help you find the right option for you and your family.

• Short-term Breaks – enables unpaid carers to take a break as well as offering the individual a supportive and enjoyable break within a family environment. We can provide short breaks up to 28 days. This service works best where the person stays with a Shared Lives Carer on a regular basis and can get to know the family.
  
  
• Regular Planned Respite - Respite offers the individual a chance to spend regular periods of time away from home, staying with another family. It provides the person with the opportunity to make new friends, form new relationships and have new experiences. It may also help the individual to learn new skills and become more independent.
  
  
• Kinship Support – A service offered on a regular basis, which does not involve an overnight stay.
  
  
• Long Term Placement – This is a long term scheme for vulnerable people, where they can live with families on long-term basis.  This offers an alternative to living in a supported tenancy or residential home.  It offers a person-centered way of living with consistent one-to-one support.
  
  
• Emergency Placement – Sometimes, it is necessary to make an emergency placement, but this does not happen very often. The main aim is to find a Shared Lives Carer that will provide a placement quickly and efficiently. However, the person centered approach still needs to be taken into account, hence providing a service that meets the needs of the individual. In some instances, the placement will be successful and go on to be long term.
  
  
• Home from Home - If the individual is an older person this scheme could help them stay as a guest in the home of a family or single person. The older person could get out more and have a break from being on their own.
  
  
• Shared Care - This support is for someone that needs extra respite over 56 nights a year. It may be that an individual will stay with a Shared Lives Carer for 3 nights a week and go back to their parent/s for the other 4 nights. However, how the nights are planned is agreed between the carer, the social worker and the parent/s. Recently for example,we have organised for someone to have one week respite with a family once every three weeks.