Our trustees – who they are and what they do

Richard continues to be involved  in social care and health through a range of consultancy work and as a board member of Anchor Trust and Action on Hearing Loss.

Richard is a keen walker and enjoys music  and bird watching. He is currently learning to play the trumpet!

He holds a season ticket holder at Manchester United, (one of the rare breed who actually hails from Manchester…!) and enjoys being a member of the National Trust. He has supported us for over 10 years.

I have worked in health or social care since I was 17, starting as a psychiatric nurse, then moved into community and general nursing. I then helped set up a Community Centre in South Shropshire in what had been a Local Authority Care Home. Followed by a move to Social Care where I have remained and first heard about Shared Lives or Adult Placement as it was known then.

My Myer Briggs personality type is ENFP Extraverted INtuative Feeling and Perceptive and I would say this is an accurate picture of me and has served me well throughout my career.

I am a Shared Lives Carer and have been for many years before that I was a Foster Carer with a private company.  I have also worked within Social Services with young probationers helping them get back into full time employment and settle their lives into a manageable routine.  I enjoy helping the local community with various events / charity fundraisers / and schemes to enhance our area where we live.

I have sat as a local Magistrate for many years – also elected as the chair of the Youth Panel for Wales.   Helping others seem to be my middle name – so the family say.  They also say I am a tough ole cookie whatever that means.

I visit my son who lives in Sydney Australia as and when I can.   I enjoy all kinds of Craft and have my very own ‘She Shed’ which is heaven and I make things for local craft fairs nearby, and art [water colours mainly].

David joined Grace Eyre in 2006, and has been the registered manager for the Shared Lives scheme since 2021. In January 2024 he set up Grace Eyre’s Homeshare service, which launched fully in June 2024.

To him it made real sense to add this service to the charities offering, as it supports people during such a challenging time for the country.

David has a passion for photography and can often be found capturing events for small charities and running organisations. As well as being a keen cyclist and runner to help stay active and healthy.

Prior to social care, my initial career was with information technology in the corporate sector where although I enjoyed tech, I felt disconnected from society and unable to contribute. I am driven by a constant curiosity and open mind to ‘do things differently and better’, especially where I can have a positive influence and impact on the lives of others.

Living in Wales, I have a varied range of interests including gardening, quilting and (despite being vertically challenged) I am an avid motorcyclist.

Aisling is also a Trustee of 2 national charities seeking to improve the life chances for disabled people.

Lorraine brings to the board over 25-years’ people development and strategic change management experience across the public, private and charity sectors. She also holds committee and advisory group positions within the education sector.

Using her natural curiosity, strategic thinking and relationship building skills, Lorraine enjoys co-developing values-led, evidence-informed and pragmatic solutions to strategic and operational issues. She deploys those skills in facilitating strategic improvement projects across adult social care which she has done with IMPACT (the national centre for Improving Adult Social Care) and through her coaching and organisational development consultancy, Root and Rise Ltd.

I’ve long admired the Shared Lives model of care.  At the Care Quality Commission, I was impressed by the quality of care and support provided by Shared Lives, whose ratings were consistently good or outstanding in the vast majority of services.  I hope I can support Shared Lives go from strength to strength for the benefit of everyone involved.

I am now training to be a lay celebrant of funerals.  I’m a keen walker, support Sunderland football club and enjoy the cultural delights London has to offer, especially live music and theatre.

She is passionate about Shared Lives as a genuinely person-centred solution in increasingly challenging times.

Emma is also a Chartered Accountant and a trustee and treasurer at The Advonet Group, a Leeds-based advocacy charity which promotes empowerment and inclusion.