Building new relationships with Leeds Homeshare

Living in a Homeshare arrangement can be an ideal solution for many people in many different stages of life. Leeds Homeshare offers those who need a bit of extra support an opportunity to share their home with someone who can help. The programme connects people who can mutually benefit from living together, whether it’s through companionship, shared interests, or practical support. We spoke with Isabel and Simon about their experience being matched as part of the Leeds Homeshare scheme…

Isabel, a recent graduate in her 20s, said she’s feeling lucky for her Homeshare experience:

“Within my peer group some people find themselves in difficult housing situations and I feel privileged to have this opportunity to save money and live close to work.”

One of the most valuable aspects of Isabel’s Homeshare arrangement is the positive relationship she has developed with Simon, the householder. They share common interests and are enjoying one another’s company.

“Simon has helped me get to know the area, rather than having to find my way round on my own”.

This help with getting to know the area and local community has made her transition to a new place much smoother.

Beyond the companionship, Isabel appreciates the support she receives from the coordinator of Leeds Homeshare. She shared that knowing that any issues or concerns will be addressed “in a professional manner” gives her peace of mind.

The support offered provides reassurance and distinguishes the Homeshare arrangement from traditional rented accommodation, making it “a good opportunity that doesn’t come round very often.” said Isabel.

Simon, an academic and keen gardener in his 70s, also shared his thoughts on the benefits from the Homeshare arrangement:

“I appreciate the company and the time I spend with my sharer Isabel. She is often available and it’s easy for me to ask for extra help if I’m tired at the end of the day.”

From a practical perspective, Simon believed that living alone with his cat in such a large house didn’t make sense. Simon said they take turns cooking and share basic household items such as milk or spices and Isabel has been helping with tasks such as washing the dishes. Isabel has spent some time with Simon’s family too.

Leeds Homeshare is not only an affordable housing solution; it’s also a great way to build new relationships and help others. If you’re a householder who needs help with daily chores and tasks, or a homesharer who can provide support, then Leeds Homeshare might be for you.

To find out more about, please visit www.leeds.gov.uk/homeshare

You can get in touch on homeshare@leeds.gov.uk or call 0113 378 5410

Follow us on social media!

facebook.com/LCCHomeshare
twitter.com/LCCHomeshare

We’re celebrating Homeshare Week 2023

What is Homeshare?

Our Leeds Homeshare scheme matches people who are looking for help at home, who have a spare room, with a helpful sharer. A simple solution for practical help at home!

We can support with:

• Tackling loneliness
• Offering low level practical support
• Offering affordable accommodation
• Forging intergenerational bonds
• Decreasing pressure on local services
• Reassuring family members
• Householders feeling safe

Find out more in this video from Leeds Homeshare Coordinator Emma Harris: https://tinyurl.com/HomeshareWeek2023

Hear from some of our current homesharers about their experiences…

Homesharer Margaret is an active 91 year old who was widowed during Covid. She keeps busy with family and a local community group but wanted to give homeshare a try for reassurance during the long dark winter months. Family were hoping for additional peace of mind knowing that between their support and the Sharer’s help at home someone would be around for Margaret a lot of the time. Margaret said:

“it’s comforting having someone there, good to know there is someone about…I like the conversation”

Her sharer, a young professional in their 30s helps with light housework, sociable company and walking the dog. Margaret is happy that her sharer “just fits in” and said “I explain how something works and she takes it on board. It’s also nice that when she’s working she pops in to see if I’d like a hot drink.”  The sharer has space to work from home and has enjoyed getting to know the extended family. She also benefits from a homely affordable place to live. In the early stages, the sharer found the help of the coordinator in setting up the match, arranging the introductions and regular updates really useful.

Another householder shared that they appreciate the balance that having a home-sharer provides, saying

“it has been great that we can get on with each other, and I’m really glad to have a sharer who checks I’m okay, without being in each other’s pockets”

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Leeds Homeshare is a Leeds City Council scheme

Get in touch at:

homeshare@leeds.gov.uk or 0113 378 5410

Follow us on Twitter: @LCCHomeshare

Bowling, balls, bread and more best bits of becoming Shared Lives carers

Hear from Leeds Shared Lives carer Mick Ward about his experience with the Leeds City Council scheme…

Shared Lives has brought J into our lives along with a whole lot of things we would never have done without him.

We’re Mick and Gill, and J comes to stay with us at our home from time to time so we can provide support, but more importantly share each other’s lives. It also creates space for his family to do other things.

We support J as part of the Leeds Shared Lives service. Shared Lives is a great concept that moves away from more traditional care models. It brings about a much more equal relationship between the person receiving support and the people providing that support, who share everyday life in as reciprocal a way as possible.

Spending time with J not only helps to expand what he might do, it also gets Gill and I to do things we wouldn’t otherwise. We’ve been ten pin bowling (J followed every good shot with a different premier league footballer’s goal celebration), we’ve danced till midnight at the Leep1 masked ball (see photo below) and received a tasty focaccia from him that he baked with Leeds Bread Coop.

It’s the simple things too that make our time with J so enjoyable. We didn’t want to be the people J comes to who always go out doing things – it’s not sustainable nor what real life is like. Plus, J’s already busy with lots of daytime and evening activities provided through a range of services.

So, we also spend time simply watching TV, going on short walks and playing cards, or quiz games on the iPad – J is a real quiz master! All punctuated by J’s humour, he’s a specialist in one-liners and impressions, and it’s also great for me to have a new audience for my old jokes and stories!

After working in adult social care for 42 years I was already a champion of Shared Lives but knew little about how it worked in practice. Once I retired I wanted to continue doing something in the broad world of care, health and wellbeing. Gill had already retired and the short breaks element of Shared Lives suited us well due to our other commitments.

You don’t need relevant experience; you get full training. From the start the Leeds Shared Lives team were brilliant in explaining how it all works and always responsive to any questions we had. After we made initial contact, we had a visit from a social worker who outlined what would happen whilst checking it would be right for us.

Once we agreed to progress, we booked the core training, completed requests for information such as pen pictures about us, our interests and background etc, as well as practical details about the house, and the time we could commit. We were kept well informed throughout the process despite it happening through the height of Covid.

The first big step is being matched with someone wanting to use Shared Lives, and after a couple of options were explored, we were matched with J. I’m sure the matching process is complex, but I suspect it helped that J is, like me, a huge Leeds United fan. Before we met I knew he was a football fan but not which team. Imagine my relief that he was wearing a Leeds United top when we first met!

That first meeting was at our house, with J, his mum and the social worker, to get an initial sense of who we all were and to talk about how it might work out. J was able to look round the house and see his room for when he stayed. Over the next few weeks we met J on his own at a nearby café a couple of times and he visited us again at home. That showed we really got on and everyone agreed to J stopping for his first night.

All went smoothly and we have gradually built up to regular stays, initially just a night at a time, then sometimes two. We recently did our first five nights, in addition to the usual one-night stays every couple of weeks. It was great having that full week to get a stronger sense of J’s life and how we can continue to support him.

And as we all get to know each other better, we’re finding new things to do together, from J’s love of going out to eat exotic food (from calamari to sushi to Korean BBQ), to organising a trip to watch some women’s football, to planning to go to some art event openings…

It really is about sharing lives.

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Call: 0113 378 5410
Email: shared.lives@leeds.gov.uk

www.leeds.gov.uk/SharedLives

@LCCSharedLives

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Great partnership and strength-based working from Shared Lives carers

In December 2022, Leeds Shared Lives customer RC came to stay with carers Linda and Rowena in an emergency placement. After a breakdown in RC’s housing both were able to step in quickly, this can make a huge difference in someone’s life, especially around Christmas time! RC said he didn’t find the process difficult, describing the experience as great, ‘Linda is so helpful. She’s brilliant, I couldn’t ask for more.’

Linda expressed that she could understand how coming into a stranger’s home could be daunting and it could be hard to settle but said she has good working relationships between the Shared Lives team, carers and customers and is able to work through any issues that might arise.

RC also shared that he has found the arrangement flexible and has found it easy moving between his 2 Shared Lives carers. He’s been able to keep his independence and see friends and family that live nearby. He’s particularly enjoyed being around Rowena’s dog and said it’s the calmest he’s ever felt.

Linda worked for Leeds City Council for over 20 years before retiring. She returned to the workforce in 2010 at 55 when she came across Leeds Shared Lives whilst looking up work options for a friend and decided she’d be a good fit herself! Linda has enjoyed the flexible nature and working from home. Being a Shared Lives carer has also been a positive experience for Linda’s family, she said how the experience of meeting all the different people that stay in Linda’s home for respite care has benefitted her grandchildren, ‘They’re learning a lot and becoming more confident around people’.

Despite the busy time of year, nearing Christmas, Linda and Rowena went above and beyond to make this emergency arrangement work meaning RC could be included into their Christmas festivities. Leeds Shared Lives Principal Service Manager, Indi, praised both Linda and Rowena for both being very flexible and accommodating at short notice. Saying they demonstrated some great partnership and strength-based working.

Shared Lives carers provide care in their own homes, offering city-wide Respite & Day Support to adults with additional needs. Support is provided on a flexible basis to suit your needs. No experience is needed as full training is provided.

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Find out more about a rewarding role as a Shared Lives carer…

Call: 0113 378 5410
Email: shared.lives@leeds.gov.uk

www.leeds.gov.uk/SharedLives

@LCCSharedLives

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Quality in Care Awards nomination for Leeds Shared Lives carer Anne Hyman

Going for a walk, getting on a bus, using a bank card…simple everyday actions for most of us. For ‘I’ though, it was only when she was matched with Leeds Shared Lives carer Anne Hyman that she found the confidence to take these steps towards independence.

During 25 years with Shared Lives, Anne has supported 10 matched individuals. She and ‘I’ had an instant bond of trust when they were matched in 2013 and their weekly visits continue today. ‘I’s progress exemplifies Anne’s ability to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Chronic depression left ‘I’ feeling socially isolated and lacking self-worth. Having Anne in her life has been transformative in many ways. became her confidante, helping her to better manage her mental health. ‘I’ now has greater belief in her own abilities and can experience life beyond the confines of her own home.

Going the extra mile for the service and individuals is second nature to Anne, who shows a readiness to host emergency placements alongside her regular matches. ‘I’ is a non-native English speaker and, thanks to Anne, she has developed her language skills. She now chats with others at her day centre and even recorded a short video expressing her appreciation for Anne.

Anne is an enthusiastic advocate for Shared Lives, raising its profile by fully involving her matches in her family and community life. Her commitment to continuous learning positively impacts the service. She regularly engages with the support and training offered, adapting her practice to offer appropriate, individualised care that responds to changing demands, for example increased referrals of people with autism.

We’re so pleased that Anne was a finalist in the category ‘Paid Care or Support Worker of the Year’ 2022!

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! To learn more about them visit: https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/winners-announced-for-leeds-quality-in-care-awards-2022

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Find out more about a rewarding role as a Shared Lives carer…

Call: 0113 378 5410
Email: shared.lives@leeds.gov.uk

www.leeds.gov.uk/SharedLives

@LCCSharedLives

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Quit smoking for good this Stoptober

Stoptober begins on 1 October and there has never been a better time to quit!

If you are a smoker, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your health, allowing you to start moving better, breathe more easily, and save money. Join thousands of others and start your quitting journey this October.

By supporting you to quit along with others, Stoptober can boost your confidence and motivation. You’ll realise that you are stronger and better prepared than you think, which sets you up for long-term success.

Research shows that if you can make it to 28 days smoke free, you’re five times more likely to quit for good. It’s never too late to quit – stopping smoking brings immediate benefits to health, including for people with an existing smoking-related disease.

Not only that, but you’ll have more money to spend. On average smokers spend £38.59 a week on tobacco. That means you could have around £2,000 more to spend a year by quitting.

You are four times more likely to succeed with support, and One You Leeds can help you to be smoke free. The service offers a range of support including one-to-one and group sessions with a health and wellbeing coach.

The sooner you quit the sooner you start to feel the benefits. Smoking tobacco increases the level of carbon monoxide in your body making you more at risk of heart attacks and strokes. After stopping smoking, your levels of carbon monoxide drop very quickly. In just 24 to 48 hours after your last cigarette, your levels go back to that of a non-smoker.

During October you can find out more and get a free carbon monoxide reading at one of these pop-up clinics in Leeds:

• Dewsbury Road Community Hub and Library: 3 October 10:00am to midday
• Armley Community Hub and Library: 5 October 9:30am to 11:30am
• Crossgates Library (now in Crossgates Arndale Centre): 10 October 10:00am to midday
• Hunslet Community Hub and Library: 11 October 10:00am to midday
• Moor Allerton Community Hub and Library: 25 October 10:00am to midday

How are you doing Leeds? Have your say on wellbeing in our city

There’s one month left to have your say in a survey gathering insight into people’s mental health and wellbeing in Leeds and the services they can access in the city.

The ‘How are you doing, Leeds?’ questionnaire asks Leeds residents for perceptions of their wellbeing, support networks and experiences of mental health and care services. The questionnaire is a key part of a wider survey intended to build a picture of people’s wellbeing in the current context of pressures faced by many due to the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and international events.

The questionnaire is run by Leeds Health & Care Partnership, which is a collaboration of local NHS services, Leeds City Council and third sector groups. The findings will help to inform service planning and provision, ensuring that the needs of local people are met.

Anyone aged 16 or over who lives in Leeds is invited to complete the questionnaire. The aim is to collect responses across age groups and from a broad range of communities to produce the best possible representation of the situation in Leeds. The survey is available in English, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Arabic and Polish, with other languages on request.

You cannot be identified personally from the information requested in the questionnaire. The only personal details asked from you are age, gender identity, employment status and postcode (first part only if preferred).

Submit your responses online or visit your local library or a community or digital hub to complete the survey. The deadline is Thursday 15 September.

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Air quality and health: Have your say and get alerts for Leeds

Poor air quality is the largest environmental health risk in the UK, with air pollution contributing to adverse health impacts particularly for the most vulnerable in society.

Leeds City Council’s Air Quality Strategy sets out the steps the council is taking to tackle emissions at source, raise awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality and support people most at risk.

Initiatives include the launch of an air quality alert service and a survey gathering the views of Leeds residents and workers to inform public health planning.

To have your say on air pollution in the city and how it affects you, please complete the Air Quality and Health Survey by Friday 29 July. Your responses will support a health needs assessment being undertaken by the council’s public health team.

On most days air pollution in Leeds is classed as ‘low’, however there are occasional periods of higher air pollution due to a combination of man-made and environmental factors. At these times some people may experience new or worsening health symptoms, especially those with existing medical conditions, children, older people and pregnant women.

To stay informed sign up for the council’s new free email alert service. You will receive an email alert when the Met Office forecast shows outdoor air pollution in Leeds will be high or very high, so you can take action to keep you and your family safe. The council will also share alerts on its main social media channels.

By publicising high pollution events, the council aims to enable people to follow official public health advice and to protect others by reducing their contribution to air pollution when local air quality is poor. The new alert service is one of a number of initiatives supporting efforts to reduce the 5.7% of deaths in Leeds each year that can be linked to poor air quality.

For local advice and guidance and to read about how Leeds City Council is working to improve air quality visit Clean Air Leeds.

Nominations open for Leeds Quality in Care Awards 2022

The Quality in Care Awards recognise and celebrate excellence across the adult social care sector in Leeds.

Nominations are open for the 2022 awards, which are organised by Leeds City Council in partnership with Leeds Health & Care Partnership and Leeds Care Association.

The awards aim to showcase the great work taking place in adult care and shine a light on individuals and services that make a real difference to people and their families. This year’s awards will highlight the dedication and commitment of the caring professions throughout the exceptional challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

There are nine categories:

• Social care nurse of the year
• Care or support worker of the year
• Volunteer of the year
• Care home registered manager of the year
• Best recruitment and retention initiative
• Most innovative approach supporting independence, choice and control
• Most inclusive service provision
• Digital innovation supporting independence
• Outstanding contribution to social care

The awards are open to any individual or service that provides Care Quality Commission registered adult social care in a nursing or care home as well as in people’s own homes. Anyone can nominate – a service user, family member, staff member or colleague in another organisation.

Visit Quality in Care Awards for further details and to submit nominations. The deadline for nominations is 31 July 2022 and the awards ceremony will take place in November 2022.

Dying Matters Leeds Community Grant now open

Dying Matters Leeds aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.

Funding available

1. Small Grant up to £200 is available for one off events
2. Medium Grant up to £500 is available for applications with more than one event
3. Large Grant up to £1,500 is available for arts based projects, performances and/or a regular group or activity.

Organisations are invited to apply for a Dying Matters Leeds Community Grant to deliver an event/s or activity/ies in their local community between 1 November 2021 and 31 March 2022. The events may be in real life or online.

Application process

Leeds Bereavement Forum is administrating the grants on behalf of the Dying Matters Leeds Partnership. Please read the Guidance Notes (.pdf) before you apply.

Please download and complete the Application Form (.doc)

• The deadline for submitting applications is 5pm, Friday 8 October 2021
• Applicants will be notified of the decision by Friday 22 October 2021

Applications will be assessed by a panel of representatives from the Dying Matters Leeds Partnership. Unfortunately, we have a limited budget so will be unable to fund all applications.

If you have any queries, please contact Leeds Bereavement Forum on 0113 225 3975 or email info@lbforum.org.uk