Apply to become a Shared Lives carer

Apply to become a Shared Lives carer

If you're over 18, you can make an incredible difference to someone's life by becoming a Shared Lives carer and offering to share a place in your community and family.

Our shared lives carers are just ordinary people, doing extraordinary things! 

Apply

To register your interest in becoming a Shared Lives carer, please complete our online form:

You can also contact us by:

• email: [email protected]
• phone: 01604 526129

What happens next?

Once you have applied we will contact you for an informal chat and talk you through the scheme in more details.

During the conversation we will cover:

• what it’s like to be a shared lives carer (we might also invite you to meet other shared lives carers)
• your experiences, relationships, and care-giving skills
• your family, lifestyle, and anything you do in the community

When you’re ready to go ahead we’ll then email or post you an application form for you to complete. This will include the details of where to return the completed form.

Home review

Once we have your completed form we will contact you to carry out a home review.

We’ll check your home to make sure that:

• there’s enough space for another person
• you have a spare room
• the property is suitable and of a safe standard

This is to make sure that we continue to meet the quality of standards required by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our Shared Lives service is regularly checked by the Care Quality Commission.

Matching process

It’s important that you find the right person to support, so we’ll start sending you information about people who are looking for a Shared Lives carer.

You’ll find out their likes, dislikes, needs, and what they’re looking for in a carer.

When we find someone who may be a match for you, we’ll set up the opportunity for you to meet and spend some time together before anything is confirmed.

This helps to make sure that both you and the person who needs a carer are happy before any arrangement is made

Once the match has been agreed, and you have started sharing your home, we’ll review the arrangement after 6 weeks.

This is to make sure things are going well for both you and the person you are supporting. If there are any difficulties, we’ll work through them.

Last updated 20 June 2025