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Caring

Inspiring

Empowering

Shared Lives

Living in the Community

Shared Lives offers an alternative and flexible type of accommodation, care and support for adults. We enable people to live in the community while being supported in a more normal and ‘real life’ environment.

Our supported people live in the homes of their carers, sharing in the lives and activities of the host family.


Shared Lives is all about relationships, helping the people we support grow and maintain their confidence, make new friends and learn new skills.


We also offer day support, short breaks or longer-term care arrangements for the people we support outside the Shared Lives service.


We have built the Shared Lives service over many years, pioneering the person-centred and community-based care models.

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About Shared Lives

Member of shared lives looking at a cake stand
Glenn and James posing with friends in a hall
Members of shared lives standing outside for a party
2 Members of shared lives in a kayak
Hand-made sign with the writing: Thank You To All Our Shared Lives Carers
James and Glenn taking another selfie with friends
James and Glenn in a car with friends
James and Glenn taking a selfie with friends
Thomas dancing with a woman
Thomas holding a football trophy
Thomas dressed as a police man for a New Centre Stage theatre performance.
Thomas sitting next to a woman
Glenn and James sitting next to each other laughing
Glenn kneeling down to hold a dog

Contact Details

  • Phone: 01704 829514
  • Email: karen.bennett@ndirections.org
Contact Us Here

Our Stories

Glenn's Story

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James' Story

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Thomas' Story

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Sheila's Story

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Judy's Story

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Care Quality Commission

Shared Lives is a CQC registered service and has a ‘GOOD’ rating.

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Contact Shared Lives

  • Phone: 01704 829514
  • Email: karen.bennett@ndirections.org

Glenn's Story

Glenn came to Shared Lives after the unfortunate loss of his father. He is a very creative person who loves writing and gardening. Glenn told us about how writing on his iPad helps him organise his thoughts and feelings. He also talked to us about how online safety safeguarding training helped him feel more confident when using the internet.

James' Story

New Directions is my full-time life – everything I do, the people I meet, the friends I have made and most importantly the independence and confidence I have now are all because of New Directions.

For me, Thomas, and all the other people here, Shared Lives is more than just a service, and I know because I have used many others.
 
The teams at New Directions make a difference. I am not the same person I was before I came here. I love going to the New Centre Stage Performing Arts Group, and I enjoy the drama and entertainment for everyone. But I wasn’t like that before.
 
Earlier this year, I helped put together a presentation for the National Care Forum. I got to go to the conference and talk in front of the whole audience about our ideas, which I couldn’t have done before.
 
I am learning how to deliver safeguarding training for Shared Lives members to help us stay safe online. I would not have been able to create this, let alone deliver it to other people, without the support and confidence-building from the New Directions staff and my Shared Lives Carer.
 
Of all the things that I can now do, thanks to all the people who have supported me across the New Directions Teams, one thing stands out: my voice. Not how I speak but what I say. I am listened to by everyone at New Directions, from my Shared Lives Carer to Mark, who runs New Directions.
 
I am called an Expert by Experience, but really, I just give them a piece of my mind, and they listen and act. We are all Experts by Experience, and our voice counts.

Thomas' Story

I just want everyone to know how independent I am now. That’s what living in Shared Lives has given me. I go swimming, go to the gym, play football, do drama productions and lots of other things. I am part of my community – and I can make my own cup of tea. I can do my washing, and put it away, but that isn’t as much fun.

So about me. I  have been living in Shared Lives with my carer Joe for eight years now. I used to live with my dad and brothers in the family home before, but there was lots of disagreements that could get out of hand. I am a very happy, sociable person who loves to have a laugh and a joke and loves bantering with people, I never get angry and when others do it makes me very sad and unhappy – I don’t like to be sad and unhappy!

I have trouble seeing and hearing, and have a condition called Bardet-Biedl syndrome which means I have a lot of health issues I need to deal with and I really need to work hard to stay healthy and fit.

When I do go out, I have a white stick to help me get around. This was something else Shared Lives helped me with. Joe, my carer doesn’t have to hold on to me and guide me around outside anymore and in my house I can find my way round.

I love my house and my carer Joe, he is always there for me and I love to have our little chats about different things, and especially love how we can have a laugh together we spend a lot of time laughing and joking around – I told you I do love to have a laugh and joke.

Shared Lives really helps me with this. My Shared Lives carer Joe supports me to all my medical appointments and encourages me to speak up for myself and helps me understand what is being said by the doctors. Joe has really helped me understand my condition and what I need to do to stay healthy and safe.

These things have changed my life and I am much more independent and am happy to go places and do things I don’t think I ever would have done before like swimming and going the gym, which I love. I go two times a week and have made so many friends we have a laugh and a joke when we are chilling in the sauna.

As I said, I have to work really hard to stay healthy and fit, I am a big guy but I used to be bigger.

I never really understood what healthy eating was. Joe got to know what I liked and what was good for me and since living in Shared Lives I have lost over 4 stones, my clothes fit better I have actually dropped several sizes.

I really enjoyed picking my new clothes in smaller sizes this was a great achievement for me. I loved buying my LFC tops I am a huge Liverpool football club supporter! I think without this help my health problems could have been a lot worse.

The technology Shared Lives has given me has also helped me to keep in touch with my family and friends. I love to talk to people on my mobile phone or FaceTime on my iPad.

I can do this by myself I just need a little help from Joe’s daughter Sophie to set up my assisted technology and then I’m off phoning people all by myself!

I have an Echo that I talk to and ask to put on songs I like to sing to, I love singing at the top of my voice, letting all the neighbours hear my lovely singing voice – me and the neighbours have a good laugh about my singing.

If there was one thing that showed how independent I am now it would be the NCF (National Care Forum) conference this year.

With my friends James and Glenn we created a presentation for the conference all about our experience in Shared Lives, what it means for us and what it has done for us.

Without the confidence and independence I now have, together with the technology I now use, I don’t think I ever would have been able to work with my friends to create a presentation that made such an impression.

One last thing I want to tell you is I am the happiest I have ever been and me and Joe are the A Team!

Sheila's Story

In 1986 B, social worker approached me and my husband Michael as we were registered foster carers.

He told us he had a young man living in Springbrook (children’s home) and would we take him home. We initially said no as I was working at the time as a special needs teacher and bringing up my two boys, Andrew, and Ian.

B persuaded us to go to Springbrook and meet David and once we met him Michael said we cannot leave him there, he came to stay with us for two weekends and then moved in with us and became part of our family and the rest is history!

In the April of 1986 B again contacted us to say that they had a young man living in The Poplars who was very unhappy and crying all the time. Again, I said no but we went out to a pub for a drink with Colin and knew then that we could give him a loving stable home and he moved in the following week.

They have both been part of our family ever since, you take it for granted sometimes how much it actually takes for someone to move in and adapt to your family life.

We have been through may changes over the years and people trying to change our family home into something else, but it is a family home, and we have stuck together as a family.

We have had challenges along the way but also lots of fun and laughter and trying new experiences as a family. My sons Andrew and Ian see Colin and David as their brothers. We both decided that we would treat David and Colin the same way as our sons and bring them all up together and some of this seems to have worked well!

I can say from the bottom of my heart that they have both enriched our lives and given it meaning.

Shared Lives over the years has developed as it should do, and it is much more supportive for me as a carer. I know I can phone up anytime to get the help and support from my shared lives officer and the team. Colin and David feel supported and included and love the social events and meet ups with all their friends in Shared Lives. The training days have all made a difference. It has been a massive learning curve for me over the years being a shared lives carer and patience and a sense of humour are needed more than anything.

I want Colin and David to live their lives and be happy and have things to look forward to and to feel safe, supported and loved by us as a family.

Judy's Story

Before Shared Lives came to me, Dave and I we were supporting our special young lady at home from Friday to Sunday.

I had been told that in order for K to continue to stay with us that I would need to complete an NVQ level 4. I had been worrying about how I was going to achieve  this when I returned home from work one day and Dave told me that someone called Sandra Kay had called and wanted to talk to us about joining the Adult Placement Scheme.

Sandra came out and explained everything to us and we decided to join the service. We have been with them for about 20 years now.

After Shared lives became involved we were able to continue with supporting K at weekends. We continued with this arrangement for K for a couple more years. Then with agreement with K’s care home team, Sefton MBC  and shared lives we started to have K just on Saturdays for 8hours  . This suited all parties concerned. It hadn’t been an easy time for us as the care home that K lived at did not work in partnership with us and at times made it very difficult for us.

It worked out really for K to spend Saturdays with us and we still enjoy having her visit us now. Tracey Pearson and Sandra Kay have been wonderful and always there for us. They both have empathy and understanding for the situation that we found ourselves in with K’s care home.

 I was really lucky for the shared lives team to find me. They are always at the end of the phone if I need them. They have stood by us during very difficult times. Not only have they been supportive but they’ve also shared the lovely things that happen in their lives too.

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