ACROSS the county, there are families who welcome adults with care needs into their home to provide an alternative to more traditional types of care.

The Shared Lives scheme is a national programme and in Herefordshire there are 48 households who share their homes with 95 adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems, or other needs that make it harder for them to live on their own.

To shed light on this relatively unknown programme, the Hereford Times spoke to a number of the Shared Lives carers.

Sandra Lawrence, who retired from the scheme two years ago, said: "They take people who have had a raw deal in life into their own families and treat them like their own families.

"I have seen some people's lives totally transformed by these wonderful people."

The service users, aged 18 upwards, are referred to the programme through social services and they are then matched with a household.

Mrs Lawrence said: "We have had people who have been in and out of mental health institutions for years. They have come into Shared Lives and they have now been there for eight to ten years with maybe one or possibly two short spells in hospital."

The Shared Lives carers share their family and community life, and give care and support to the adult with care needs.

They go on holiday together and the service users sometimes live with them until the end of their lives.

Carer Mark Howarth said: "What tends to happen is they become part of the family."

Most homes can take up to three people - your home is assessed and there is a lot of training involved. A remuneration package is involved, but Mr Howarth added: "If those people didn't do it, the cost of it is phenomenal. We are the most cost effective."

And carer Beryl Morgans said that with more traditional types of care, such as a care home, the service users don't always get a continuity of care as the employees come and go.

She said: "With Shared Lives you see the way the people benefit - they have got the support."

Carer Alison Evans said: "They become part of your family.You say, 'What do you want to do this weekend?' You support their interests and watch them reach their full potential. It is all about giving them a chance."

They are always looking for new carers, and there are also opportunities to offer respite care.

Lesley Howarth said: "It is very rewarding. You do have to have a certain type of passion."

Other Shared Lives carers are: Joy and Trevor Pearce, Pauline Gill, Sheila Cole, Sue Hanne, Richard Evans, Jenny Lowe and Vicky Parkes. To find out more go to www.ategi.org.uk/duplicate-of-shared-lives-carers-hereford.html