About the L'Arche Saskatoon Project
In 1998 a number of people who felt a desire and a call to bring L’Arche to Saskatoon formed a group called “Led by the Spirit”. At the request of L’Arche Canada, they began to hold monthly gatherings for adults with intellectual disabilities and their friends and families. The aim of the gatherings was to create a welcoming social setting where adults with intellectual disabilities could enjoy the company of others, and to support parents with sons or daughters living at home, by providing a place where they could step out of their isolation, share their stories of daily living, and give and receive support from friends.
The gatherings have now grown to have a regular attendance of 60 to 90 people—about half of them men and women with intellectual disabilities. At each gathering—now called “Friends of L’Arche Gatherings”—there is a time at the beginning to socialize with others, followed by a sit-down meal. After the meal, there is a group activity in which everyone is invited to participate, music and singing, a time to remember and pray for those who are ill or in need of support, and then a final song before clean-up and good-byes. A wonderfully vibrant community life has developed at the Friends of L’Arche Gatherings.
Opening the first L’Arche home in Saskatoon
When the Led by the Spirit group first contacted L’Arche Canada to express their desire to open a L’Arche home in Saskatoon, they were asked to begin, not by buying a house, but by building community with people with intellectual disabilities. It is community life—mutual relationships, people sharing life together with other people—that is at heart of all L’Arche communities around the world. A strong community has developed around the Friends of L’Arche Gatherings, and the L’Arche Saskatoon Project is now ready to open its first home.
In February, 2007, we purchased a house in the Lakeview area of Saskatoon that will become the first L’Arche home in Saskatoon. We are presently raising funds for the renovating and furnishing of the house, and to meet our ongoing operational costs.
The L’Arche Saskatoon Project will offer residential support to adults with a developmental disability. The staffing model will consist primarily of live-in assistants. The L’Arche Saskatoon Project will also employ respite workers and an Executive Director to support the individuals living in the home.
When the L’Arche Saskatoon Project opens its first home, it will become a probationary L’Arche community. In time, it will become a permanent member of the International Federation of L’Arche; it will join the 27 other communities that make up L’Arche Canada; and it will strengthen its ties with the other L’Arche communities in the Western Canada Region in Comox, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Winnipeg.