Thoughts on becoming a personal support assurance

[Bringmesunshine123]

Reposting from "work" as not much traffic...

We have recently had a dramatic change in our financial circumstances; DH lost his well paid job and I was only working part time hours in retail.

Thankfully DH has found alternative work albeit at a much reduced salary and I have been temping 5 1/2 days a week in an office job that is shit pay and frankly soul destroying! I am permanently exhausted and home life is in chaos.
I accept it is what is though and has kept a roof over our heads.

I have been looking at job vacancies for personal support assistants; there are literally dozens with a local independent living company and the role really interests me.
I don't have any direct professional experience but I cared for my tDM for the last 4 years of her life (minus personal care),volunteered for a family charity and am a mum to full on 2 teens!

Does anybody have any experience of the role? Is it something that can be taken on with no relevant training and are you well supported?
I think I would probably prefer to start with children/teens but would see how things went.

It also seems to pay significantly more than I'm earning at the moment and would mean I didn't need to work such ridiculous hours.

Would appreciate anyone's thoughts

Bump

You don’t necessarily need particular qualifications, though your relevant experience is definitely a plus point. A crucial aspect of the role is developing a really good relationship with the individual you’re supporting and their family and having a strong understanding of their personality and their needs so that you can advocate for them effectively. It can be a very demanding role - more so in many ways than working in a care home or being a community carer as rather than having many service users you’re spending a significant amount of time supporting a single individual with complex needs who you have a very close working relationship with - and naturally, as humans, we tend to lash out at those closest to us, which for the individual you support and their family may sometimes include you as a PSA.

In terms of your own support: PSAs are employed directly by the individual/s they support and their family - so there’s no HR department, line manager, employee assistance programme etc, which can be challenging. The local authority adult social care function may have resources for carers and PSAs to access and there are charities which support individuals who receive care, their families and their paid carers, but essentially it’s the same as being employed by any individual to do a job.