Live More with Bury Shared Lives

Bury Shared Lives were part of a new Greater Manchester dementia pilot project, Live More, to support more people in Bury who are living with dementia and their families and carers.

Live More ran from June 2025 to May 2026, aiming to keep people connected to the things they love while also giving their families and carers a break. We hope the project will help us to develop and evaluate day support and shape the future of flexible, person-centred dementia care in Bury.

In October 2026, an independent evaluation of this year-long project found evidence to support the value Live More has delivered, which our Shared Lives team experienced first-hand in families across Bury.

Read the independent Live More evaluation here.

Live More’s impact was measured across three key areas:
 

for people living with dementia:

• improved mood and wellbeing
• people reconnecting with hobbies and interests they enjoy
• independence, dignity and control: people were enabled to choose how they spent their time
• real relationships - matches felt informal and carers were regarded as friends

for families:

• their own identity and sense of self returned 
• gave them real opportunities for quality, worry-free time to themselves, which gave them chance to 'switch off' and stay well
• relieved the pressures of caring and improved their family life 

for the wider community:

• reconnected people with their own communities, a sense of belonging and genuine contribution
• prevented family carers reaching crisis point 
• supported people to stay at home for longer and making connections with other support options
• filled gaps in social care needs, like helping people access appointments and benefits, preventing illness or falls

These human benefits are priceless in themselves, but Shared Lives Plus (the national UK membership charity for people living and working in Shared Lives) also shared that Live More has "created £5.96 in social value for every £1 invested – reflecting wider benefits such as improved wellbeing and reduced pressure on families and services".

Sulyn Waddon, Shared Lives dementia support worker said "This project has been a vital link, as the gap between what's needed and what's available is huge."

Shared Lives Plus have made a film to showcase the difference Live More has made to people’s lives across Greater Manchester - you can watch it below. You might even see some familiar faces and places! Follow the link at the top of this page to read the report in full.

We worked with Shared Lives Plus and ARF (Accelerating Reform Fund) on this project.

Thanks to Shared Lives Plus for sharing the independent evaluation report, which this article has been based on.

Hear Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, talking about Live More:

Thank you to Shared Lives Plus for the photos we've shared here.