Leicestershire Shared Lives is a service where carers share their lives, families, and homes with people with care and support needs to help them live their lives to the full. Our Shared Lives officers provide dedicated support to our Shared Lives Carers from the moment they apply to become a carer and beyond.
When did you start your role as a Shared Lives Officer?
I began my role as a Shared Lives Officer in June 2023. I was already working in Adults and Communities, for our provider services but within another team. My reason for joining the Shared Lives team was around the current skills I had to offer; I wanted to keep working with carers and needed to find a job that would fit around my family life. I was welcomed into the team and had opportunities to shadow my colleagues to learn the processes, and functions of my new role.
What’s a typical day in the life of a Shared Lives Officer?
The wonderful thing about being a Shared Lives Officer is the variety of the role from day to day. One day I might be scheduled to work duty, where I will need respond to duty calls, requests, and emails. This might be Shared Lives Carers ringing in for advice, or to report an incident, general enquiries and I will also respond to carer applications that come through. The rest of the week I manage my calendar, scheduling in monitoring visits to carers, visiting them in their place of work, which is their own homes, checking compliance, training, and having over-sight on the individuals within their care. Following all visits there are reports to be typed, documents to check and ensure everything is uploaded to our systems. As an Officer I have my own delegated caseloads that I support with the bookings of respite, transport, and work alongside other professionals such as Social Workers, or Health workers. I also support with recruitment and the approval process of new applicants. We have weekly team meetings where we can discuss any concerns, queries, action plans and ways to improve the service.
What aspects of the role do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy the variety the role offers, but most of all I enjoy seeing individuals who are in need of care, and are eligible for the service thriving in an environment that’s so unique to each family, and what they have to offer, and the fact that it can make such a difference to someone’s life by being part of a real family household, that it’s an option for them, that they don’t have to move into residential settings. We have Shared Lives Carers who have so much to give and open their lives to share everything from normal day to day activities such as food shopping, and cooking to family get-togethers and holidays.
How does your role make you feel?
Due to the growth of Shared Lives, we are never without tasks to action. I take huge satisfaction in supporting our carers, supporting their knowledge and development in our ever-evolving world, and supporting them in times where their job can throw its challenges. It’s extremely rewarding to hear carers thank you for the time that’s invested in them. I won’t lie, the fact is the role can have its frustrations at times too, because we rely on others to be able to move forward and finalise certain decisions.
To find out more about becoming a Shared Lives Carer visit our dedicated recruitment page.