Some folks can’t really get a picture of how I spend my day at L’Arche and have asked for more details. L’Arche is an international organization with over 130 communities around the world (a community usually consists of several homes in one city). The home I work in is large–it has eight bedrooms, four downstairs and four upstairs, along with 4 1/2 bathrooms. The dining room table seats 18, and at celebration dinners, we need to add a second table in the adjacent sunroom. We are currently building a second home next door. Both homes are fully accessible to those with physical disabilities.
The purpose of L’Arche is to bring together into community those with and without intellectual disabilities to honor, love, and assist one another. Those with disabilities we call ‘core members’ since they provide the basis or focus around which community is formed. Those of us providing direct support are called ‘assistants.’ We currently have 5 core members living in the house and 2 live-in assistants. The goal is to have 4 and 4 instead of 5 and 2, but being a new community it was financially difficult to manage at this point. In our current setup, we have 4 administrative-type people (like Kimberly) and 5 live-out assistants (like me) along with a handful of part-time folks. I think I get paid $9 an hour, but I’m not certain.
I’ll write a bit at a time so that those reading don’t get bogged down. For now that’s all.
Janathan Grace Reflections 
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