Community life

In a society where loneliness is an increasing problem, L'Arche creates a way to provide support to people with learning disabilities that attends to their need for friendship as well their basic needs of care.

L'Arche UK has a long history of working with social services and social work departments, health authorities, primary care trusts, registration and regulatory authorities, housing associations and others, to provide high quality support that is recognised as being truly responsive to people with learning disabilities.

What underpins the care and support we provide is the quality of the relationships that are woven through everyday life. People with learning disabilities are not only supported but themselves enabled to support others, and become care-givers in their own right. Thus people have the fullest opportunities to mature and develop personally. Celebrations, such as birthdays and community gatherings, as well as shared meals are central moments where these bonds of friendship and the qualities of the person can be acknowledged and valued. In Ipswich, the CQC inspectorate recognised this with a mention of the "quality of interaction" among people in the community.