Date published: April 17, 2019
We wanted to offer people somewhere to live – and call home
Jack and Rose are Shared Lives carers and part of the Avalon Shared Lives scheme in York. Jack also works for the scheme as a business development manager. Here they talk about their Shared Lives – and what it was like to be interviewed by ITV Calendar!
“Rose, my wife, has been involved in Shared lives all her life. Her mum and dad have supported people using Shared Lives service for over 30 years in Manchester. Four years ago we initially started to offer short breaks where people stayed with us for a few days, and joined us and our son Henry as part of our family.
We quickly realised we’d like to offer people somewhere to live – and call home. That’s when Scott came to stay. It just seemed to work and those initial fears I had dissolved as soon as he moved in. Scott loves his sport and is a player for both York’s inclusive rugby and football teams. It great seeing him enjoy himself and I get to attend the rugby dinner with him and see him play.
Robyn has only recently moved in two months ago, but has soon made a positive impact on the family. She is very bubbly and brilliant with the kids. Rose and her love to talk beauty and go out shopping. I find it very rewarding working as a Shared Lives carer and no day is the same. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
The day ITV news came was very exciting for me and Rose. It was also quite surreal having a camera crew in the house – I wish I listened to my own advice we gave Scott and Robyn, which was to ignore the camera and be natural! The minute the red light came on the camera I started to sweat and stumble with my words. Robyn and Scott acted like it was an everyday occasion, very natural. It will be nice to look back on in years to come and see the impact we have had and are having through Shared Lives. We are very lucky to do such a rewarding job, of course there are some difficult days, but on the whole as Robyn would say “Massive high five!”
Robyn adds, “I was really nervous and scared, Rose helped me with my outfit and I felt good for the TV. All my family have been asking about it and I can’t wait to see it now!”
Scott said, “All I had to do was play football with Henry, it was easy really, I hope Leeds United notice our footballing skills.”
If you would like to become a Shared Lives carer – find out more below.
“We are very lucky to do such a rewarding job”
