L'Arche

L'Arche

Motto	"Changing the world, one heart at a time!"
Founded	August 4, 1964, by Jean Vanier, France
Type	International not-for-profit organization
Location	Worldwide in 50 countries
Services	Operating homes, programs, and support networks with people who have developmental disabilities
Members	5000+
Key people	Jean Vanier/Raphaël Simi/Phillipe Seux, Founders
Website	www.larche.org

L'Arche is an International Federation dedicated to the creation and growth of homes, programs, and support networks with people who have intellectual disabilities. It was founded in 1964 when Jean Vanier, the son of Canadian Governor General Georges Vanier and Pauline Vanier, welcomed two men with disabilities into his home in the town of Trosly-Breuil, France. Today, it is an international organisation operating 147 communities in 35 countries, and on all five continents.^[1][2]

Worldwide, L’Arche is organized into regional and national groupings of independent, locally operated agencies which it calls “communities." Each L'Arche community normally comprises a number of homes and, in many cases, apartments and day programs as well.

The L'Arche Model

L’Arche homes and programs operate according to a not-for-profit “community model” which is distinct from "client-centered", medical, or social service models of care. At L’Arche,

• people with disabilities, and those who assist them, live together in homes and apartments, sharing life with one another and building community as responsible adults.
• everyone is believed to have the capacity to grow and to mature into adulthood, and to make a contribution to society, regardless of the physical or intellectual limitations with which they may be living; and
• the important goals of achieving personal growth and maturing socially as an adult are things which are understood to be nurtured most effectively within the context of a community whose policies and practices support and promote, among other things:
  • the development of long-term, mutual, interdependent relationships;
  • the maintenance of a stable, life-giving home environment;
  • the training and ongoing formation of those who provide assistance to community members with disabilities; and
  • cooperation with outside professional care providers.

The Mission of L'Arche

The mission of L'Arche, as defined by L'Arche International, is

• to make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities (or learning disabilities as they are known in the UK),
• to foster the development of communities that respond to members' changing needs, and
• to engage with local cultures while working toward a more human society.

In pursuit of this mission, L'Arche strives

• to create small faith-based communities of friendship and mutuality between people of differing abilities;
• to develop lifelong support systems for the benefit of all, especially those who are highly vulnerable due to old age and/or multiple disabilities.
• to highlight the unique capacity of persons with disabilities to enrich relationships and to build communities where the values of compassion, inclusion and diversity are upheld and lived by each person.

L'Arche as a "Faith-Based" Organization

L'Arche is rooted in Christianity, but is open to people of any faith and people with no religious affiliation.^[3]

As a faith-based organization, L'Arche maintains, promotes, and strives to act upon the following principles:

• that whatever their strengths or their limitations, people are all bound together in a common humanity;
• that everyone has the same dignity and the same rights, including the right to life, to a home, to work, to friendship, and to a spiritual life;
• that a truly just and compassionate society is one which welcomes its most vulnerable citizens, and which provides them with opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the communities in which they live; and
• that systems of belief—be they secular or religious—make the world a better place only when they promote the dignity of all human beings, inspiring us to be open to people of different intellectual capacities, social origins, races, religions, and cultures.

For more information about the vision and mission of L'Arche, see the "Charter of L'Arche”

History of L'Arche

In 1964, through his friendship with Father Thomas Philippe, a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican order, Vanier became aware of the plight of thousands of people institutionalized with developmental disabilities. Vanier felt led by God to invite two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, to leave the institutions where they resided and share their lives with him in a household in Trosly-Breuil, France. He named their home "L'Arche", which is French for "The Ark", as in Noah's Ark. A collection of audiovisual material from L'Arche Trosly-Breuil is available at the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto.^[4]

The first community in Canada, L'Arche Daybreak, was founded in 1969 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, near Toronto. Sue Mosteller, who lived with the Daybreak community for 40 years, acted as L'Arche's first International Coordinator after Jean Vanier.^[5] Dutch priest and spiritual writer Henri Nouwen also lived with the Daybreak community for several years until his death in 1996. He wrote about his experiences with Jean Vanier, L'Arche and the Daybreak community in his books The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey and Adam: God's Beloved.^[6][7] The institutional and community archives of the Daybreak community are located at the St. Michael's College, Toronto.^[8]

The first community in the UK was founded in 1973 in Barfrestone, Kent, through the efforts of Jean Vanier's sister, Thérèse Vanier.^[9] L'Arche Kent has since grown into a community of three traditional L'Arche houses, a gardening project called "The Glebe" and supported living apartments for twelve people with disabilities. ^[10]

Although L'Arche communities are found in many different cultures and reflect the ethnic and religious composition of the locales in which they exist, they share a common philosophy and approach. People with developmental disabilities and those who assist them live and work together to create homes. The L'Arche Charter says, "In a divided world, L'Arche wants to be a sign of hope. Its communities, founded on covenant relationships between people of differing intellectual capacity, social origin, religion and culture, seek to be signs of unity, faithfulness and reconciliation."^[11] The charter further outlines the objectives, the principles and the identity of L'Arche. All the Communities of the International Federation of L'Arche are committed to living these principles. In March 2008, the international councils of L'Arche and another organization for disabled people founded by Vanier, Faith and Light, met for the first time in joint meeting in Lviv, Ukraine. The international council of L'Arche was represented by 30 people from 14 countries, and the international council of Faith and Light was represented by 19 people from 17 countries, including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, India, Canada, USA, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil, Uganda, New Zealand, Philippines, and Italy.

Funding

L'Arche communities are funded differently, depending on where they are located. In Canada, the UK, France and other developed countries, they are funded by the relevant governmental body. In less economically developed countries they rely more on local donations and on donations from other L'Arche communities and worldwide.

Bibliography

• Vanier, Jean (1979). Community and growth: Our pilgrimage together. Toronto: Griffin Nouse. OCLC 6277986. 
• Vanier, Jean (1982). The challenge of L’Arche. Ottawa: Novalis. OCLC 8872141. 
• Downey, Michael (1986). A Blessed Weakness: Spirit of Jean Vanier and L'Arche'. San Francisco: Harper & Row. OCLC 13271482. 
• Vanier, Jean (1995). An ark for the poor: the story of L’Arche. Ottawa: Novalis. OCLC 32546881. 
• Nouwen, Henri (1997). Adam: God’s Beloved (1st ed.). Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. ISBN 9781570759949. 
• Young, Francis M (1997). Encounter with mystery : reflections on L'Arche and living with disability. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. OCLC 38763519. 
• Nouwen, Henri (1988). The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. 
• Spink, Kathryn (2006). The miracle, the message, the story : Jean Vanier and l'Arche. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. OCLC 717818158. 
• Clarke, S.J., Bill (2006). Enough room for joy : the early days of L'Arche. Toronto: Novalis. OCLC 671066324. 

References

External links

National & Multinational L'Arche Websites

An up-to-date listing of all national and multi-national L'Arche headquarters can be found here.

Below is a list of direct links to some of the key national and multi-national L'Arche websites:

• L'Arche in Latinamerica/El Arca en Latinoamerica
• L'Arche Canada
• L'Arche en France
• L'Arche in the United Kingdom
• L'Arche USA
• L'Arche Zimbabwe

Regional L'Arche Websites

• L'Arche Atlantic Region (Canada)

L'Arche Community Websites

An up-to-date listing of all L'Arche communities worldwide can be found here.

Below is a list of direct links to some L'Arche community websites:

• L'Arche Atlanta, Georgia
• L'Arche Bognor Regis
• L'Arche Cape Breton
• L'Arche Chicago, Illinois
• L'Arche Cleveland, Ohio
• L'Arche Clinton, Iowa
• L'Arche Dunaharaszti, Hungary
• L'Arche Greater Washington, DC
• L'Arche Kent
• L'Arche London, Ontario, Canada
• L'Arche Winnipeg
• L'Arche Seattle
• L'Arche Spokane
• L'Arche Tacoma

Other L'Arche-related resources

• Podcast of "Speaking of Faith", speakingoffaith.publicradio.org; accessed 2 October 2014.
• Dr. Therese Vanier profile, rcdow.org.uk; accessed 2 October 2014.
• "L'Arche Trosly-Breuil fonds". University of St. Michael's College. Retrieved 15 October 2015. 

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