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A founder of a pioneering scheme supporting people through mental health crises has been recognised at a national awards ceremony.
Emma Jenkins, 44, from Bargoed, helped start the South East Wales Shared Lives Scheme in 2019, for which she works as a mental health crisis manager.
The scheme, which is backed by both Caerphilly County Borough Council and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, is the only project of its kind in Wales. It supports people through their mental health crisis by offering care and support in the community, which means some people can be discharged sooner from hospital.
For her work, Emma was handed silver at this year’s Wales Care Awards.
What is the Shared Lives Scheme?
Shared Lives is an award-winning scheme that offers individuals the opportunity to be supported in carers’ homes and local communities. In a Shared Lives arrangement an adult who has care or support needs is matched with a compatible carer. Carers share their home, family and community life with the person, helping to develop and maintain independent living skills, friendships and connections in their local area.
Shared Lives carers are carefully recruited, assessed, trained and supported by the scheme. Our carers come from all walks of life and choose to care for a wide variety of reasons. They are united through their enthusiasm, commitment, and positive motivation to make a real difference in people’s lives. The flexibility of Shared Lives means that carers can provide support for lots of different people in a wide range of situations.
The Scheme facilitates arrangements across Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynnon Taff and Torfaen.
Source: Caerphilly County Borough Council
Rosemary Brown, Emma’s manager who nominated her, said: “Emma is worthy of this prestigious award due to her compassion and ability to think creatively in order to deliver an outstanding service.
“Emma creates opportunities by getting the right people around the table and being open to other professional cultures in order to develop a culture of sharing ideas and using active listening and reflective practice in order to deploy innovations with the people that will use them.”
Emma is passionate about developing the service and regularly gives presentations to other local authorities across the UK and worldwide as part of the mental health nursing organisation.
There are 300 care families currently registered with the scheme who share their homes and help those in crisis within a family setting, but demand has grown since the pandemic and lockdown.
Speaking before the awards, Emma, who switched to social care after gaining a law degree, said: “It can be challenging at times and one has to be creative, but it is extremely rewarding and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
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