The service is to begin working with the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s Communications Team on a recruitment drive to meet rising demand.
Currently, there are 114 carers and 99 service users in the Dorset area.
Clients are often referred to the service by a support worker. These vulnerable over-18s are matched with professional carers who look after them in their family homes and support them to live a normal life.
Placements can be long-term, short-term, respite or day care.
Complex needs
The majority of adults looked after under the scheme have a learning disability. Others have a mental illness, a physical disability or dementia.
Julie Fellows, Team Manager at Shared Lives, says they are needing to recruit carers with the ability to look after adults with more complex needs.
Ms Fellows also thinks that the Shared Lives scheme can provide an alternative to large residential care homes.
She says: “A smaller home setting in the community will work for a lot more people generally.”
To hear more, watch the interview below.
Shared Lives works under the umbrella organisation Shared Lives Plus. The Dorset branch supports people in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.
The organisation receives funding from several groups including the Big Lottery Fund, the Department of Health and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
NHS England and seven NHS trust are investing over £1.75m in scaling up Shared Lives as a new form of healthcare.
