Skip over main navigation
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
L'Arche-Kent
Easy Read Accessibility
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Contact us Donate
Menu
  • About us
    • What is L'Arche
    • L'Arche in Kent
    • History and spirituality
      • Jean Vanier
      • Thérèse Vanier
      • Henri Nouwen
    • Contact us
  • Support and services
    • Community life
    • Services we offer
      • Shared living
      • Day activities
      • Supported living
  • Join our team
    • Join us as an assistant
    • What we value
    • Ramil's story
    • Life in Canterbury and Kent
    • Vacancies
    • Embracing difference
  • Volunteering
    • Why volunteer
    • Volunteering opportunities
  • Get involved
    • Walking Together
    • Why we need your help
    • Donate now
    • Leave a legacy
    • Fundraise for us
      • Set up a fundraising page
    • Book a speaker
    • Pray For Us
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • What is L'Arche
  1. About us
  2. What is L'Arche

What is L'Arche

We believe that people with learning disabilities have much to teach us and contribute to the world.  Over the last 50 years, we have learnt the best way 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.

In L’Arche we celebrate people with learning disabilities and build circles of support around them.  We go beyond basic needs to attend to people’s emotional and spiritual lives.  It is this focus:  on building relationships and a sense of belonging, on supporting each member of the Community with and without learning disabilities to reflect on what they have learnt and to share that reflection, that makes us different from other service providers.  

L’Arche Communities hold in balance these four elements; service, community, spirituality & outreach.  Experience has shown 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 the other three.

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

Published: 30th April, 2018

Updated: 16th October, 2018

Author:

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • L'Arche Kent Walking Together resources

  • L'Arche Kent Walking Together

    L'Arche Kent Walking Together

  • Book a speaker

  • Ismayil's story

    Ismayil's story

    ‘I think L’Arche is one of those places where you can change the world, and changing the world starts with changing yourself.’

Related

  • Join us as an assistant

    Join us as an assistant

    Spend a year as an assistant at L'Arche Kent and we will give you an experience of difference that will change your life.

  • Ramil's story

    Ramil's story

    ‘L’Arche is teaching me about patience. It teaches me to empathise with other people and learn what it means to know people very, very deeply.’

Most read

  • Vacancies

    Vacancies

    Spend a year as an assistant at L'Arche Kent and we will give you an experience of difference that will change your life.

  • What is L'Arche

    What is L'Arche

    At L’Arche Kent we celebrate people with learning disabilities and build circles of support around them. We go beyond basic needs to attend to people’s emotional and spiritual lives.

  • Community life

    Community life

    What makes L’Arche different is the attention we pay to building relationships and creating a sense of belonging within our Communities.

  • Shared living

    Shared living

    L’Arche Kent has two homes in Canterbury where eleven core members share a home with live-in assistants.

  • L'Arche in Kent

    L'Arche in Kent

    Replace this with your content

  • Supported living

    Supported living

    We have four supported living houses in and around the city of Canterbury.

  • Volunteering opportunities

    Volunteering opportunities

    We always welcome people to join L'Arche Kent in a volunteering or friendship capacity.

  • Day activities

    Day activities

    At L’Arche Kent we have our very own brewery, as well as a popular gardening project, and craft studio.

  • Join us as an assistant

    Join us as an assistant

    Spend a year as an assistant at L'Arche Kent and we will give you an experience of difference that will change your life.

  • Life in Canterbury and Kent

    Life in Canterbury and Kent

Arche UK has signed up to the The Driving Up Quality Code See our latest inspection reports from Care Quality Commission

Sign up for our newsletter

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])

Connect with us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Useful links

  • Login
  • Logout
  • Manager
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

L'Arche is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, No. 1055041.
L'Arche is registered as a charity in England and Wales, No. 264166, and in Scotland, No. SC038493.
Registered Office: 10 Briggate, Silsden, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 9JT