BBC The One Show spotlights Shared Lives for young people leaving care

Presenter and a care experienced person, Ashley John-Baptiste, interviewed Sally Ellis, Unit Manager at Oxfordshire County Council Shared Lives scheme and one of their Shared Lives household’s: Becs and Katy, Shared Lives carer.

Oxfordshire Shared Lives are one of 37 Shared Lives schemes taking part in the Shared Lives Plus young people leaving care programme, which aims to support growth and development of Shared Lives for young care experienced people, building on the many years that schemes have supported such relationships.

The aim of the programme is for Shared Lives to be embedded as a first choice for young care experienced people with a learning disability, autism or mental health challenges, and over 100 new young people have been matched with Shared Lives carers because of this programme.

Talking about how she felt when coming up to the age of 18, Becs said:

“I wasn’t in the mental capacity to live by myself. Katy and Matt understand me, they always support me around everything like my autism, my ADHD, my mental health, which does help a lot.”

Becs enjoys living with Katy and Matt and now has a job in their family pub:

“When I met Katy and Matt, I felt that connection. I felt… loved, I wanted to stay with them and to make memories… with Shared Lives there is no end date…”

The piece also featured Andrew Dickie from Children’s rights organisation Coram Voice who spoke about care leavers experiencing homelessness; support in the community such as Shared Lives can ensure a smooth transition from children’s care to build independence skills within a strong family environment.

When asked what she would say to someone coming up to 18 and facing the prospect of leaving care, Katy said

“It may be worrying, you may feel scared but there are places out there that will support you. I finally found the family… they might not be my blood, but they are to me.”

Find out more about the Shared Lives for young people leaving care programme.