A celebration of Shared Lives Week 2025

From family-style get-togethers and local recruitment drives to national media coverage and online celebrations, the week was bursting with energy and pride. Here’s a snapshot of some of the highlights:

We opened the week by sharing stories that show how Shared Lives relationships grow. One standout was Tricia, Alistair and Archie’s story from the Scottish Borders: “A stranger that becomes family is no longer a stranger.” Their story featured in our national press release and was picked up by Care Talk magazine.

We also explored the matching process – like Liz and Kathy and their Shared Lives carer Gail. Jasmin, a carer from Surrey and Diane, a Shared Lives scheme officer from Moray, gave us a glimpse into their day-to-day. And Paul tackled one of the common myths: that you must be a full-time Shared Lives carer to make a difference.

Events took place all over the UK – from big breakfasts in Portsmouth and tea and toast in Sandwell, to coffee mornings in Thurrock, Havering, Rochdale, and Newham. Cambridgeshire and Nottinghamshire hosted picnic lunches; in Ilminster (Shared Lives South West) they served up afternoon tea; people enjoyed fish and chips on the quayside in Bournemouth, and a group gathered at the pub in Bexley (see picture below on right). Food, it’s fair to say, was a recurring theme!

The celebrations didn’t stop there. We saw roadshows in Knowsley, recruitment days in Croydon, Powys, Macclesfield (Shared Lives Cheshire East – see photo on left), Enfield, and Stoke-on-Trent, a riverboat trip in Wolverhampton (Camphill Village Trust). There was a tour of the local football club in Southend, disability sports in Wiltshire, and an awareness day in Leicestershire.

Celebrations took place in Herefordshire, Coventry and Swindon, a party in Oxfordshire, a party in the park in Tameside, and even a summer ball in Kendal (Westmorland and Furness Shared Lives)!

Individuals were also in the spotlight – with carer appreciation awards in Moray, long-term carer recognition in Tameside, and touching stories from Shared Lives households including Gaye, Carol and Linda, and Jackie and Anne.

Members of the Shared Lives Plus team were out and about all week, joining in and supporting events across the country:

– Ewan King, Chief Executive, joined Positive Futures in Belfast for their 30th anniversary.

– Jess Jackson, Communications Manager, enjoyed a sunny round of mini golf with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Shared Lives (see photo on left).

– Lorna Walkden, Communications Officer, shared coffee and cake with Sheffield Shared Lives at a local farm.

– Rachel Leslie, Strategic Advisor, dropped in on Essex Shared Lives at the Learning Disabilities Festival in Harlow.

– Rebecca Day, Membership Engagement Officer, attended events in Stoke and Wakefield, including discos, quizzes, and carer awards – and had a great time, even if her cake didn’t win a prize at the bake off! (See photo on right).

This year, Shared Lives Week made headlines – and not just in the papers. We appeared on BBC News Kent, ITV News Meridian, and Hits Radio Cornwall and in national magazine, The MJ.

Local councillors were interviewed for a podcast in Milton Keynes and featured in local press in Wakefield and Hucknall (Shared Lives Nottinghamshire). Councils up and down the country – from Southampton to Barnsley, Ealing to Newcastle, Brighton & Hove to Blackburn with Darwen – shared stories on their websites and social media. Shared Lives South West alone secured 11 pieces of coverage in local and regional press and radio – a brilliant result!

The celebrations continued online with fantastic engagement, especially on our Facebook page, where we shared:

– Rebecca’s favourite parts of living in a Shared Lives household

– Priya’s thoughts on being a carer

– Gary’s joyful photos from “the best day of his life” (see photos on left).

On LinkedIn we shared updates including:

– The appointment of our new trustees

– News that Shared Lives Stoke-on-Trent has joined our ‘Live more’ dementia programme

– A strategic spotlight on Herefordshire

On Instagram, we introduced our care leavers programme ambassadors and asked them to describe their Shared Lives carer. We turned their words into a word cloud — a powerful visual showing what Shared Lives means in their lives (see image on right).

We also shared inspiring videos across our channels from Hampshire, Herefordshire, Stockton-on-Tees and Northern Ireland.

This week also marked the launch of the Shared Living Awards 2025 – and nominations are now open! These awards celebrate the everyday heroes of Shared Lives — from carers and supported people to schemes and teams. Entries close on Friday 5 September 2025. More details here: Shared Living Awards 2025.

Throughout the week, we hosted three webinars packed with inspiration and practical advice — from setting up schemes to showcasing positive outcomes. Recordings are now available on our website here: Shared Lives Week webinars.

To everyone who helped make this week such a success — thank you. Whether you hosted an event, shared your story, joined a webinar, posted on social media or simply liked a post — you were part of something bigger.

Here’s to Shared Lives Week 2026!