l'arche, arche, larche, disability, nova scotia, disabled, assisted living, disabilities, down syndrome, non profit organizations, learning disabilities, vanier, learning disability, people with disabilities, people disabilities, developmental disabilities
Featured Item:
Welcome! /
Bienvenue!
L'Arche Atlantic Region (Canada) is part of an international organization dedicated to the creation and growth of
homes,
programs, and
support networks
with people who have intellectual disabilities.
Founded in 1964 by CanadianJean Vanier, L'Arche is now an international movement operating in 40 countries, and on every continent.
Other Key Facts About L'Arche:
Worldwide, L’Arche is organized into regional and national groupings of independent, locally operated agencies which it calls “communities.”
Currently, there are about 150 L’Arche communities worldwide, including 5 in Atlantic Canada.
19 houses and 4 apartments, providing homes for 80 persons with intellectual disabilities and their “live-in assistants”;
7 day programs and two summer programs, providing meaningful and creative out-of-home daytime options not only for many of L’Arche’s 80 residents, but for dozens of others as well.
To learn more about living as an Assistant at L'Arche
click on the following image:
Parliamentary Committee on
Palliative and Compassionate Care
Releases a Report entitled
L'Arche in Canada
In Canada, L'Arche communities can be found in most provinces:
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;
To foster the development of communities that respond to members' changing needs; and
To engage with local cultures and to work toward a more human society by:
Creating small faith-based communities of friendship and mutuality between people who have intellectual disabilities and others;
Developing life-long support systems with people who have intellectual disabilities, especially with those who are extremely vulnerable due to old age and/or multiple disabilities; and
Highlighting 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.
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 intellectual disabilities and those who assist them, live together in homes and apartments, or work together in day programs, sharing life with one another and building community as responsible adults;
Everyone is invited to take responsibility for the growth and life of the home, program, and community to which they belong;
People are encouraged to relate to one another primarily as equals and as friends, rather than as “clients” and “staff”, or as “patients” and “care-givers”;
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;
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 intellectual disabilities; and
cooperation with outside professional care providers when required.
L'Arche as a Faith-Based Organization 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,
click here to view the "Charter of L'Arche."
What Others Have Said About L'Arche
Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, was named “Nation-builder of the Year” by The Globe & Mail in 2009, while L’Arche itself has been recognized for:
Pioneering a unique model of care-giving that is recognized around the world.
In an article published in 2006, the Washington Post observed that L’Arche “operates what many in the mental disabilities field consider some of the planet's best and most humane group homes.” (Source: “The District Bureaucracy Bears Down on a Dream” by Marc Fisher, Washington Post, December 5, 2006.)
Creatively promoting the contributions of people with disabilities as full and equal members of society.
In a research document published in 2006 by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), L’Arche was described as the only housing model in Canada (for people with intellectual disabilities) whose group homes can be “identified as a best practice.” (Source: “Housing for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities” in “Research Highlight”, CMHC, March 2006.)
Facilitating understanding amongst people of different faith and cultural backgrounds.
In 2002, the Award-Winning documentary film-maker, Karen Pascal, profiled L’Arche and Jean Vanier in her documentary “Belonging: The Search for Acceptance” (Windborne Productions - http://www.windborneproductions.com/belonging.html)
Developing a variety of school, family, social and corporate programs which highlight the place of persons with intellectual disabilities in our society.
For more information about educational materials developed by L’Arche for high schools and universities, visit http://www.larche.ca/en/education.
Jonathan Boulet-Groulx is a young reporter-photographer who has been involved with L'Arche as a volunteer and an assistant for more than five years. He has been living in Chantal, Haiti, since May 2009. When he isn't busy with L'Arche Chantal's work-expansion project, he might be nestled in his hammock, or he might be taking photographs that illustrate the living conditions of people with intellectual disabilities in this, his adopted country. He intends to continue this work of photo-documentation indefinitely, in order to paint a portrait of intellectual disabilities in the world.
L’Arche Assistants and others interested in pursuing a unique professional development opportunity are invited to sign up for the “Diploma in Assisted Living: Human Care and Community.” This distance learning program, developed by St. Francis Xavier University in collaboration with L’Arche Canada, is comprised of five courses for professional and personal development, and is designed for individuals who have some training and/or experience working or living with people who have intellectual disabilities. As such, it aims to build on the knowledge and skills participants already possess regarding community living and human care.
Each 12-week course is offered on a set schedule in either the fall (September – December) or winter term (January – April) and the program generally takes 2.5 years to complete. Current participants include parents and siblings of intellectually disabled children or adults, L’Arche assistants, group home leaders and workers, residential care facility coordinators, employment counselors, residential counselors, teaching assistants, and others from across the country.
Participants must have a minimum of Grade XII academic and one year experience working or living with a person/people with a intellectual disability. Those who do not have Grade XII may qualify under the Mature Student Policy.
Access to course instructors is an important feature of the program. Instructors have designated weekly office hours when they are available to students by toll free calling and email. Instructors facilitate the online discussion forum and give written feedback on assignments.
For more information, contact Mary MacInnis, Program Coordinator:
Diploma in Assisted Living: Human Care & Community
Continuing & Distance Education Department
St. Francis Xavier University
P. O. Box 5000
Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5
Web
site designed and published by John O'Donnell.
"Pilgrims Together"
logo designed by Glen Mattie.
Anyone
with questions or comments about this web site may contact the webmaster.
halifax, disability, nova scotia, disabled, assisted living, disabilities, down syndrome, arche, non profit organizations, learning disabilities, vanier, learning disability, people with disabilities, people disabilities, developmental disabilities, l'arche
