Celebrating 40 Years in Social Care

20th December 2022 was a memorable day for our Registered Locality Manager, Amanda Leary as she celebrated 40 years working in the Social Care sector!

Inspired by her great aunt, Lily May (pictured), Amanda’s career into care began when she was 16 years old. Amanda and Lily May had been best friends since Amanda was born, and shared a remarkable bond. Lily May had a learning disability and was born at a time where little support was available. After living in a long term care facility, Lily May was excited to move into a smaller, shared home but sadly passed away before she had the chance to move in. This pushed Amanda to “enter into the world of adult social care” and “to give others like Lily May a voice”.

Before joining Real Life Options in 2022, Amanda had been working as a Quality Manager in Domiciliary care but was eager to find her passion again. Amanda is now Registered Locality Manager at our Derbyshire Supported Living Services and has been part of the services from the very beginning, saying “to see the buildings go from brick, to what they are now has been phenomenal – they have really gone from strength to strength”.

Amanda says, “Real Life Options have supported and listened to me throughout, allowing me to use my input and experience to shape the Derbyshire services to where they are today”. Amanda and her team now support a total of 9 people across Derbyshire, supporting people to live independently, with more choice and control over their lives. As the service, and the number of people we support continues to grow, Amanda says her work with Real Life Options “is the pinnacle of my career, Lily May would be so proud”.

We are excited to have Amanda on our team. The wealth of experience Amanda brings, along with her passion and dedication to her role makes a real difference to the lives of the people we support.