L'Arche Association of Lethbridge Our Community Mission Statement Join Us How you can Help Our Stories Newsletter Contact Us Links

L'Arche began in 1964 when Canadian Jean Vanier, with the support of his spiritual director Father Thomas Philippe, invited two men with a developmental disability, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, to live with him in an old house in the French village of Trosly-Breuil. He named the house L'Arche after Noah's Ark and gradually welcomed not only more men and women with developmental disabilities but also the assistants who would live and work with them. Similarly, L'Arche Association of Lethbridge began on November 1,1991 when three persons with a developmental disability (core members), and two assistants began living together in a house in south Lethbridge. A second home was opened in March of 1999. L'Arche Association of Lethbridge was welcomed as a permanent member of the International Federation of L'Arche on November 8, 2000. The two homes are located about 2 kilometers apart in south Lethbridge. Four adults with a developmental disability (or core members) and three to four assistants live together in each home. Some core members are independent in many areas, while others need assistants with most things. Because we are a relatively new community, core members are also relatively young. Core member's range in age from 19 - 65 years old with the average age being about 36. L'Arche Association of Lethbridge is a small and simple community. We can still gather as an entire community in our living rooms! The two homes get together on a regular basis for times of prayer and times of fun. One of the gifts of being small is the fact that everybody gets to know everybody else very quickly. In spite of its small size, Lethbridge has a great wealth of L'Arche experience among its members. The life in the L'Arche homes is complemented and supported by three families who have made long term commitments to L'Arche. We count among our members a former International Coordinator for L'Arche, a former Regional Coordinator for L'Arche in Western Canada, the founding Community Leader of L'Arche Calgary, and others with significant experience in other L'Arche communities across Canada. Our community is located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Lethbridge is a small city of about 80,000 people located 200 kilometers south of Calgary, and 100 kilometers east of the Rocky Mountains.