Camphill Village Trust

Camphill Village Trust is a national charity and not-for-profit organisation that supports 600 plus adults with learning and other disabilities to co-productively lead a life of opportunity throughout their ten communities and services across England. The Trust, which has just celebrated its 65th anniversary, was awarded the contract to deliver a Shared Lives service on behalf of Dudley MBC in February 2018. We advised on employee and pensions contracts which enabled the transfer of council staff to the innovative scheme.

Although still relatively unknown, Shared Lives is a unique model of personalised support and accommodation with a strong track record of transforming lives going back over many years. Schemes recruit and offer specialist training to carers who open up their homes and empower adults to develop the practical, social and emotional skills, not only to feel valued as part of a family, but also generate a sense of belonging which people otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to experience. Shared Lives is extremely flexible and the person is carefully matched to live or stay with carers on either a live-in, short-break or day-support basis. The aim is to always maximise independence as much as possible, enabling the person to become an active citizen where people can take control and make their own choices in life at the very heart of the community.