Rodney
I joined the L’Arche Portland community in 2004 as a live-in assistant. As a daily life community member, I lived at Neahkahnie House with two other assistants and four core members. One of these core members is a man named Rodney. So with his permission, I’ll tell you a bit about his story.
Rodney is an elderly man with developmental disabilities. He came to live in L’Arche many years before I did, and he cannot easily tell his own story.
Rodney lived among many siblings on his family farm until his father died and his mother felt that she could no longer care for him on her own. Around the age of 12, Rodney’s mother placed him in Fairview, the state institution in Salem, where he continued to live for the next 50 years. The institution began a long process of closing beginning in the late 1970's. The doors closed for good in 2000. When it was time for Rodney to move, he lived for a short time in a house near the coast. He was then moved to L’Arche in hopes of a more permanent placement. L’Arche, however, welcomed Rodney with reassurances that this was not just a placement, but that this was his permanent home.
When Rodney first came to L’Arche he routinely packed up all of his belongings, ready to go at a moment’s notice. When he did speak, he revealed so much about his life’s experience as he constantly accused those he lived with of calling him names, stealing his things, and hitting him. All of this aggression directed at people in his space made it clear that Rodney did not know how to live without fighting back.
Years later, when I lived with Rodney, he would wake up with an emphatic “Good mornin’. I’m going to work today!” Going to work has actually been one of the greatest joys of Rodney’s life, and he’ll tell you that he’s going to work yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He was often the life of the party. He always wanted to have his records on and go out shopping to continue growing his unbelievable collection of hats. Rodney, stationed in the living room or on the front porch, kept a keen eye on each person’s car and kept us all well informed when someone would arrive at the house. Clearly, this was a man who felt at home and made sure everyone coming though the door was welcomed warmly.
Rodney gave me one of my pivotal moments of transformation at L’Arche. He was talking quite a bit about our Community Leader, someone he saw regularly during the week. We asked him if he wanted to talk to her on the phone, and he did. As they spoke, I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but as he answered her questions, he got very quiet as his chin began to tremble and he began to cry. I could clearly see the emotions of a man missing his friend dearly, so much that speaking to her on the phone made him cry. I was new in L’Arche at the time and watching this exchange truly struck my core. His ability to emotionally attach to this relationship despite his past experiences opened the door to exploring and further accepting my own vulnerability.
With support and life together in the L'Arche Portland community, Rodney grew from a man on the defensive to a man who allowed his heart to grow and embrace relationships. I joined the Board of Directors in 2006 and now serve as the Board President. Rodney’s example and friendship in the community have sustained my service and commitment to creating home and building community for people with and without developmental disabilities.
Written by Monica Ranaghan, Board President L'Arche Portland