Who We Are
L'Arche Portland is a community of people with and without developmental disabilities in Southeast Portland. We have two homes, about a mile apart from each other. In each one there are four adults with developmental disabilities (core members) and three caregivers (assistants) who share life with them. We also have members who participate in the daily life of the community, but do not live in our homes. Beyond the daily life circle, L'Arche Portland has a vast extended community of supporters both here in Oregon and all over the country, even the world. In addition, our local community is part of an international federation with 137 communities in 40 countries around the world.
We are a community of people with different:
- Ages
- Religious Affiliations
- Hometowns
- Intellectual Capacities
- Hair Colors
- Family Backgrounds
- Heights
...who share similar desires to:
- live a full life
- be loved as we are
- blossom into our most authentic selves
- share our gifts
We are people with developmental disabilities and people without developmental disabilities living together, playing together, learning from one another, laughing together, eating together, dreaming together, facing fears together.
Marilyn, one of our community members with a disability, may have summed it up best when she described L'Arche Portland as: "a place where they want you." We are creating, day by day, a place of belonging, a place where people—with or without disabilities—feel welcome and loved: a place to call home.