About Shared Lives

Shared Lives matches an adult or young person with a dedicated Shared Lives carer who opens up their home and family life to that person.

Watch the video below to find out more about Shared Lives in Gateshead.

Each person in need of support has different goals, and so each Shared Lives arrangement also looks different. Opportunities can involve: 

• short-term breaks - where a carer welcomes an adult or young person into their home for anything from a few hours, a night or a couple of weeks. It may be a 'one-off' or planned on a regular basis

• long-term arrangements - where a carer has an adult or young person move into their home for a few weeks, months, or many years

Because Shared Lives care takes place in the home rather than a residential facility, it's often compared to fostering. But instead of being about parenting, the bond formed is more like a friendship. That's because as well as those supported being 18 or over, we carefully match people based on their likes, hobbies and interests - the same foundations that glue any other great friendship together.

Many people across Gateshead choose to be Shared Lives carers. They come from all walks of life, just like those they're matched with. Could you be one of them?