The history of Shared Lives

Back in 1978, Shared Lives was invented by a brilliant woman called Sue Newton, who worked at PSS (no surprise there).
Lots of older people were then living in ‘institutions’, where they lived in constant care. The government was closing lots of them down and many people who were living in them had nowhere to go.

That’s when we stepped up.

PSS pioneered a service where these older people would go and live with a volunteer who wanted to help them. It worked, and over time the service began to evolve, changing and developing to become what it is today – the fastest growing form of social care in the UK.

These days, the service isn’t run by volunteers, support’s provided by our amazing Shared Lives carers. And it isn’t just for older people, it’s for anyone who needs it.