AS AN ASSISTANT

An ‘assistant’ is… what? 

An ‘assistant’ is anyone who chooses L’Arche, as a way of enjoying a shared community life together with our members with and without disabilities.

Whether live-in or live-out, assistants are paid according to the employment law of the country, taking into account their role and responsibility. Communities include both volunteers and salaried employees. Whatever their role or status – the commitment to the mission of L’Arche is based on mutual relationships.

 

What to expect? 

  • To share life in a L’Arche home, workshop, day activity or as part of a broader support network with members with a disability and other assistants.
  • To support people with disabilities in all aspects of life according to their needs. 
  • To make a commitment for one year.
  • To learn new skills about caring through our excellent training and formation programmes. In most countries L’Arche is a registered charity and must meet national standards in professional care.
  • Your own unique outlook on life will be respected, whatever your religion or philosophy; in return, we ask you to respect the spiritual dimension of L'Arche and other community members and where possible to take part in community celebrations.
  • To experience daily life with people who are different to you, and discover how much you actually have in common! Typically, the words assistants use to describe L’Arche are: life-changing, challenging and fun.

 

Still wondering how it would be? L'Arche UK did a short video of friendship between members

Watch "This is us"

 

How to join us?

We encourage you to first apply to be an assistant in your own country. If you want to be an assistant in another country check out whether countries are accepting applications from foreign nationals by clicking on the country you are interested in. You will be directed to their website or to an application form.

Select the country nearest to you:

 

Or use this map to make direct contact with a community of L’Arche nearest to you

Where to find our opportunities?

On our website

We post the latest employment and volunteer opportunities in our single communities, most of them in the global south.

Discover our job offers

On our Facebook Group

The communities and national offices share their volunteer and employment opportunities.

Join our Group

On our LinkedIn page

We share volunteer and employment opportunities within the Federation.

Follow us