Sharing Life Network

Our Area

We are based in Thame, Oxfordshire, and our local area is effectively in the triangle between Oxford, Aylesbury and High Wycombe.

FairXchange.org

FairXchange is a new initiative from Sharing Life Trust which enables people to offer and request household items and services directly from their home PC.

To use this service, all you need to do is go to the FairXchange website by clicking on the link below, and registering to join the usergroup.

www.fairxchange.org

You will also find there a simple explanation of how the system works.

Services - Counselling

All these services are intended to provide help for people who are, for whatever reason, not able to cope without a bit of a hand. The Sharing LifeLine is currently on an answering machine, which is regularly checked for messages. So please be patient with us as we try to develop this facility.

Counselling - Life

Sharing Life have teamed up with the Counsellors at the Thame Barns Centre to help provide counselling services for people who can't afford to pay even for the Counsellor's expenses. We've set aside a bursary fund which will help to extend this vital community service to some of the people who most need it.

Counselling - Debt

 There’s a whole finance industry trying to get us to borrow more and more money, and a simply staggering number of people whose borrowing has got out of control. For many of them, this may end in relationship breakdown and even suicide. Our aim is to provide a steady friend who can help to empower someone in such a life crisis to work through it, regain control over their finances, and maybe restore a damaged relationship as well.  

The Sharing Life Trustees (Phil, Gordon, Steve) are certified as Debt Counsellors by the Money Advice Trust. Anyone worried by debt issues can call us in confidence on the Sharing LifeLine. We will provide an assessment of outstanding debt, and help design a strategy for dealing with it that is recognised by the lenders and the courts. With this scheme, the client remains responsible for following the action plan agreed, and our aim is to equip people to regain control of the situation and prevent a difficult problem getting worse.

Services - "Good Neighbour"

 ‘Ministry of Transport’

In rural Oxfordshire, it is very difficult to get around by public transport. So we have looked to find ways to get around this problem for people who aren’t able to use a car.

At a simple level, Sharing Life Network can act as a clearing-house for arranging lifts for shopping or for hospital visits, for instance. We also have had cars donated, which we have ben able to place with families who could manage to run a vehicle, but who could not afford to buy one.

We also plan to develop a network of fair-priced vehicle services, so we can reduce for those struggling financially the anxiety which is generated by possibly expensive repairs and replacements.  

‘Garden Parties’

No job is too big or too small! This one took five people only a morning to transform a back garden from what you see on the left to what you see on the right...

Some of our volunteers have a passion for gardening and hearts of gold to match. If you know someone in this position, let’s see what we could do to make a difference.

It's also good fun to get a group together for a job like this, so if you’d be interested to help, please get in touch.

‘DIY SOS’

We’ve done painting and decorating, assembled furniture, hung curtains, put down carpets, put up shelves – most sorts of DIY projects in the house. As with the ‘Garden Parties’ it’s great fun, and can make a huge difference in a short time to someone who can’t cope with the state of their place.

For gas, electrical and rigid plumbing work, we are developing a network of fitters who identify with us and will charge a reduced or fair price for the job.

If you’re struggling, or you know someone who is, give us a call. We’re always looking for volunteers, so please give us a hand when you can.

Volunteers

When we get a need, we’ll send out an email to all our supporters and volunteers. If you’re prepared to be asked, please check out the ‘Get Involved’ page. We (helpers and helped) really value new offers of practical and financial support, and we promise to not burn you out! You can always say ‘No’ if it’s not a good time for you. So if you think what we’re doing is a good thing for your community, then please become one of ‘us’…

‘Local Links’

Clearly there are going to be situations where there’s a need that we can’t meet, particularly where specialised medical, legal, financial, technical or social help is required. We are talking with other support agencies and we aim to be able to refer people with specialised needs to an appropriate agency. We already have an excellent relationship with the Thame Citizens Advice Bureau, and are able to offer trheir clients some services that they are unable to provide. We've also got very good links with the Health Centre, and have been able to help some of their patients with practical support.