A Perth -based care and support service for adults is looking to recruit more carers to help those in need in the region.
Running since 2012, the Shared Lives Scheme is a ‘fostering for adults’ service for people aged 16+ who want to live independently in their community, with the support of a family and community network.
It is an alternative to supported living or residential care and can provide anything from companionship and befriending to respite and home share.
The Richmond Fellowship Scotland charity coordinates the Shared Lives Scheme in Perth and Kinross in conjunction with PKC.
The service receives referrals from both local authority and individuals or loved ones, with viable applicants undergoing a six-week induction and trial period.
The options for carers are: day options - a Shared Lives carer will provide companionship to an individual using their own home as a base; kinship care – where the carer will act as extended family, the individual receiving support will spend time in their own home and that of the carer; short breaks – where the individual can stay with a carer for a break which could be for a couple of days to a couple of weeks; and home share – where the individual receiving support lives with a carer and their family full time.
Shared Lives coordinator Sarah Grant said: “It is a shared life with somebody.
“It feels like an ordinary life for someone who needs support and doesn’t feel like a ‘job’ for the carer.
“It could be for respite and could be full time or live in.
“We find somebody who wants to be a carer, we interview them and then go through a matching process.
“A lot of people are needing support. Coming out of lockdown has had a massive impact on people’s mental health.”
To find out more go to www.trfs.org.uk/what_we_do/perth_and_kinross_shared_lives_service
