L'Arche

Who we are

We believe that people with learning disabilities have much to teach us and contribute to the world. During the last fifty years, we have learnt that one of the best ways to enable this is by creating Communities with a culture of shared lives between people with and without learning disabilities, from which we can work together to build a more human society.

At L’Arche we celebrate people with learning disabilities and build circles of support around them. We go beyond supporting people's basic needs to attend to their emotional and spiritual lives, too. It is this focus on building relationships and cultivating a sense of belonging that makes us different from other service providers.  

L’Arche Communities hold in balance four elements: service, community, spirituality & outreach. Experience has shown us that each element has an important role to play and needs to be present - not only for a Community to be healthy - but in order to make us better at each of the other elements.

L’Arche Communities around the world share this common philosophy and approach while reflecting and celebrating the ethnic, cultural and religious composition of the areas in which they exist.