By Patrick Burles - (@PatrickBurles on Twitter)

L’Arche looking to bring people together as they build profile in Lethbridge

Nov 12, 2018 | 6:23 AM

LETHBRIDGE – In the backroom of the L’Arche Association office on the north side of Lethbridge, there’s a large collage on the wall with the words “You are precious” written above a multi-coloured High Level Bridge and “L’Arche Lethbridge.”

The collage was created by L’Arche members and consists of 28 squares, each with its own personality, colours, and flair – fitting together perfectly.

It stands as a testament to two of the points in the organization’s mission statement – to share the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities and bring together diverse cultures to create a more human society.

L’Arche, which is French for ‘the ark,’ was created by Canadian professor and retired naval officer Jean Vanier in 1964. While searching for his calling in France, Vanier visited some institutions for men with intellectual disabilities. Inspired by them, he would renovate a home in a French village, where he invited several of the men to live with him. The initiative spread to Canada in 1969 and has since grown to include 149 L’Arche communities across 37 countries.

In Lethbridge, L’Arche consists of three houses that are home to 12 people with intellectual disabilities. Living with them, the organization often welcomes young people from around the world looking to help others as they travel the globe.

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“It’s not every place where you get to live so closely together with people who are different,” says Tim Wiebe, executive director of the L’Arche Association of Lethbridge. “We welcome people with and without disabilities and people from all over the world. So, people of different ages, people from different cultures, different religions, different amount of schooling. It’s very diverse… and somehow, we can make it work.”

Wiebe and Brad Flaig, a long time resident and member of L’Arche, met with Lethbridge News NOW to discuss what the organization does in the city and how members of the community can help.

“Part of our mission is to kind of discover the gifts of each person,” said Wiebe. “It doesn’t matter what sort of ability or disability you have – each person has a gift to bring and can contribute to their home, their community, the city, the world.”

The two men met in 1999 when both moved into the same L’Arche home about a month apart. While Wiebe has since moved out, having started a family, the friendship they developed is very evident in how they work through their memories together to nail down exactly when they moved in.

“I think the part I love about L’Arche is kind of the relationship and we’re building something together. It’s not just about helping Brad, but it’s also about me – what am I learning, where am I growing, and how can I give my gift in the community, and how can I become a more human person… and if I’m doing that, how can I help my fellow community members to do the same, as best I’m able,” explained Wiebe.

Inside the L’Arche homes, residents receive assistance with things like getting ready for work, learning day-to-day household chores like laundry, cooking, and sweeping. A key component of that is to help the residents maintain and grow their independence, while also teaching them to collaborate with others.

Wiebe used cooking as one of the best examples explaining that they take turns choosing the meal they will prepare, then working through it together.

While those services are clearly fundamental to helping the residents, it’s the social aspect that Flaig focusses on when asked what has benefited him the most.

“It has helped me a lot because I have been helping other people in the community in all three homes… I know people from different cultures,” explained Flaig, noting that he’s been able to stay in touch with some of the people who have stayed in his home from around the world.

As his independence has grown, he relishes the opportunity to show newcomers around the house and help them feel comfortable there. That confidence has also helped him to become a bigger part of the community as a whole.

“I have friends wherever I work, I have friends there and wherever I am in the city. People know me on the buses… I know people wherever I go.”

Flaig noted that all of the residents would be getting together to attend an open house at City Hall, providing their input on the development of a Mobility/Accessibility Master Plan. He stated that he has observed a number of challenges throughout the city for those with mobility issues and wanted to help make sure they were addressed.

Considering the upkeep required for three houses and supports for the residents who live there, along with vehicle maintenance to allow for group trips, it’s no surprise that they could use community support, in addition to funding they already receive from various levels of government.

To that end, the group is holding their first ‘Transforming Relationships’ charity dinner early next year, where they’re hoping to raise $20,000. The event, set for Jan. 26, will be at the German Canadian Club and feature a beef dinner with red cabbage prepared by Chef Al Scherer, a silent auction, and entertainment from Norbert Boehm and quartet.

Tickets for the event are $75 with a certificate of donation in the amount of $50 for your income taxes. They also have various sponsorship packages available that come with seats to the dinner.

Of course, they are always welcoming of volunteers as well. Should you end up at Flaig’s home, it’s important to note that one of his favourite activities is cooking, and his favourite meal, spaghetti.

When asked what volunteers and the community could learn from them, Wiebe took a moment before answering.

“We’re so diverse and we’re so different, and yet, we’re able to build something together, we can be a sign that it’s possible… the world doesn’t have to be so divisive and divided,” he stated.

“We do it in our homes, but why not in the city? Why not in the province of Alberta? In these divisive kind of times – the shooting in Pittsburgh – it doesn’t have to be like that, we can be different, and we can build something together… we don’t have to turn each other into enemies.”

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