November 29, 2016

Shared Lives Merseyside introduces Shared Voices

In July people who use our Shared Lives Merseyside service came together to relaunch their group Shared Voices. The group now meets regularly for a chat and a cuppa, to organise activities and discuss what is important to them.

As our group had been on pause for a while and the PSS team was keen to get the ball around service user involvement rolling again. “The people who use our service are at the centre of everything we do”, says Team Leader Gill Creevy, “We want them to know that and to be and feel actively included in the service and the PSS family.”

The people who live in Shared Lives Merseyside placements are as diverse as the things they like and dislike, their interests, beliefs, experiences and skills, their walks of life, abilities, support needs and personalities, their age range is between 18 and 83. So how do you come up with activities and topics for such a diverse group? Just ask.

Service Manager Bob Bell invited Lee Dowling (our cover page model), John Paul Brady and Ian Ruddock, who had previously expressed interest, for a couple of initial brainstorming meetings. They were immediately up for the plan, and came up with some great ideas for things to do and talk about. Invites went out to everyone and the relaunch meeting took place on the 6th July. We had a lively discussion, and everyone who came voted on their favourite ideas or added new ones. Suggestions were plenty and ranked from parachute jumping to bingo and bowling, model making, film nights and info talks.

We already had a quiz prepared by Hilary Mawdsley and Lee. Jason supplied the group with amazing homemade cake. Ian is very familiar with the local public transport and prepared cards for easier direction on bus routes for everyone and he always keeps the group up to date on the latest local events and activities. At the same time John Paul is currently preparing for a discussion of people’s experiences with volunteering opportunities. The group has grown since the first meeting and new ideas and voices are welcomed at all times.

Not everything is going to be suitable or interesting for everyone, but we have an enthusiastic Shared Voices committee of people who are happy to plan and organise things. The PSS team spread the word to everyone and the meetings and activities are open for anyone who lives in a Shared Lives placement to pop in.

“I enjoy coming to the meetings”, says Jason Ryan who is part of the committee and sees Shared Voices as an opportunity for a regular catch-up with other people in Shared Lives: “It’s great to meet people I know.”

Also PSS team members like Judy Cummings enjoy joining in: “It’s a great opportunity to meet people who use our service in a different setting and to hear what they have to say”. Shared Voices members take ownership of their group, as Pat Wainwright explains: “The PSS team is there if anyone needs any support and we can help to guide the group, but Shared Voices is a space for the people who use our service, and they decide what they want to do. People are happy to get involved and we want to keep this motivation ongoing.”

A big winner on the activity votes were days out – and the first one of those took place when the Shared Voices group went to visit the Shared Lives team in Wales for their Party in the Park in August. Everyone had a great time and the next outings are already being planned. For the next meeting Shared Voices has invited guest speakers from Merseyside Police to talk about Safety in the community and exchange people’s experiences.

During one of the meetings Ruth Thomas used her creative skills to surprise us all and wrote a poem about Shared Lives which now has a place of honour in our Seel Street office, and she has allowed us to share this with you all.

S is for Special People
H is for Honest
A is for Always There For People
R is for Relationships
E is for Entertainment
D is for Determined

L is for Loving
I is for Inspiring
V is for Very Cool People 
E is for Energetic
S is for Sunny