Provide homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities live and work together as peers, create inclusive communities, and transform society through relationships that cross social boundaries.
We are people with and without intellectual disabilities, sharing life in communities belonging to an International Federation.
Mutual relationships are at the heart of our journey together.
We celebrate the unique value of every person and recognize our need of one another.
L’Arche is unique among residential service providers in that core members (adults with intellectual disabilities) and assistants (people without intellectual disabilities who support core members) choose to live life together like a family. We come together around the dinner table, for house meetings, and for weekly celebrations. Core members lead the community through their creativity and compassion. As core members’ needs change we respond by adapting our routines and our physical spaces.
At L’Arche, people find friendship and a uniquely inclusive space, where each person is loved and cared for simply for being themselves. By inviting people into our community and by going out to engage in our neighborhoods we are building a more human society, one where we celebrate the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. Whether we are taking a walk in the park, working in the garden, or having coffee with a neighbor, we are modeling inclusion.
Our lives are based around welcome, prayer, celebration, and forgiveness as an interdenominational spiritual community. Through these practices, each member is encouraged to discover and deepen his or her spiritual life and live it according to his or her particular faith and tradition. Those who have no religious or spiritual affiliation are also welcomed and respected in their humanity and freedom of conscience.
