The support is highly personalised, and people are matched with a Shared Lives carer who provides the care and support needed by sharing their home, family, and community life. Taking the time to understand each person and match them to a shared lives carer is crucial.
The underpinning values are that they are strength-based and value each person who uses the service but also valuing their shared lives carers. Everyone has unique skills and something to offer.
They work proactively with specific communities when a specific match was needed, for example working with the local Sikh community through the local temple. It is true place-based working and Shared Lives carers are a wonderfully diverse group of people bringing a range of life experiences to their work.
Partnership working is critical to making this work, always working with NHS services and other social care/ community services to make sure that individuals get the best/right services."
The focus is always on the individual and securing a good match with the right carer and home for them – the chemistry must be right. Ultimately Bettertogether aims to be practical and does feel that there are people it could not support. If a good match can be found, then people can access the service.
Shared Lives carers can undertake specific training to help them support individuals with a range of needs and this includes behaviour support training, provided by Newham Specialist Learning Disabilities Team, for individuals whose behaviour communicates distress.
The service provides a home-based care model inside a consistent home environment – which can be complemented by other services. It can provide respite, shorter-term support following a discharge and a long-term home. Sometimes a Shared Lives setting works with individuals that other providers say that they cannot work with because of their behaviour. Being in a family home environment can mean people don’t need to use behaviour to be noticed
Bettertogether ensures that people can choose to live in the community in a family home. People with learning disabilities and autistic people can use the service: alongside individuals with complex mental health conditions.
The service always has the individual at the centre of its work, and this means that when things become a little more difficult or challenging the focus is on finding a solution that works for the individual and their Shared Lives carer.