Meet

What does independence mean to you?
Being able to live on my own without family support.

How has your family supported you with your transition  into independent living with L’Arche?
My family has been amazing. My family is very supportive of anything that gets me out into the community and allows me to live on my own with supports for my daily needs.

What does L’Arche mean to you?
L’Arche has become my family. I love the support that I get from them, and hopefully, they feel like I’m supporting them as well.

Have you noticed an impact or a change in your life since joining the L’Arche community?
Absolutely, I’ve seen an impact both in the way that I see myself and in the way that I see my community. Like I said before, they’ve become like a family to me, and they allow me to live independently but still know that I always have support, both here at the building and with the ILS coordinators.

Do you have a favourite memory since joining L’Arche?
In the short time, my favourite thing that we’ve done is when we did the dance for the anniversary (43rd) of L’Arche. It was so much fun, and I really enjoyed myself. It also gave my mom the opportunity to meet some of the people that I talk about and some people that are supporting me.

What role has community and support played in your transition to independent living with L’Arche?
L’Arche has been fantastic with helping me to be able to live independently while giving me people like Grace, who are assisting me but at the same time, I’m still living my own kind of life and achieving my own goals.