L’Arche communities are places where adults with intellectual disabilities live and work together with those who accompany them – salaried or volunteer “assistants.”

These communities, which are part of the medico-social sector, aim to involve all their members in interpersonal relationships that go beyond a simple care relationship. At L’Arche, the goal is to “live with” people with disabilities rather than “do for” them.
Each L’Arche community is built on four dimensions: the community dimension, the professional dimension, the spiritual dimension, and openness to the world.

In an L’Arche home, everyone contributes according to their abilities to community life: household chores, house rules, choosing outings or holiday destinations… People with disabilities, assistants, employees, and volunteers all help to make the home a true “place to live” for each person. While medical and social support is naturally at the heart of our mission, daily life in our homes is very similar to that of an “ordinary” household.
And yet, the relationships built day by day, the attention given to small gestures of daily life, the richness of surprising encounters, and the many opportunities for celebration and festivity all help to create an “extraordinary” environment.
Through this experience of shared life, the mission of L’Arche is to enable people with intellectual disabilities to take their rightful place in society.
Together with the team, each volunteer is responsible for the functional organization of the home, which involves:
Morning routines: helping people with disabilities get up, and household chores
Daytime tasks – examples of missions: grocery shopping, accompanying a person with a disability to an appointment, to mini-football, etc. Each volunteer takes part in missions according to their skills
Evening routines: snack, baths, meal preparation, and helping people with disabilities go to bed
Presence during 2 weekends per month (with 4 free days on weekends each month)
Night presence
Participation in home activities, community celebrations, and activities at the day center
Ensuring the smooth running of daily life: welcoming, meals, shopping, personal care and hygiene for people with disabilities, returning from the day center, celebrations, tidying bedrooms, accompanying some residents to church on Sundays…
Supporting people with disabilities in activities at the day center
Taking part in team meetings and community gatherings with all the residents of the home
Supporting people with disabilities in their individual and collective projects

Volunteers will be accommodated on site in small-scale homes where 6 to 9 people with disabilities and 4 to 5 staff members live together. They share a simple and fraternal daily life, enjoying common spaces (living room, kitchen, etc.). Each volunteer has their own private bedroom, while bathrooms are shared by floor.
The houses are family-style, with a kitchen, living room, lounges, bathrooms, garden, and individual bedrooms ranging from 10 to 15 square meters. They are located in safe, quiet, and lively neighborhoods, well served by public transport.

Meals are important moments of the day when volunteers, people with disabilities, and staff members come together around the same table.
Meals are prepared together and are provided by the association.

L'Arche Aywaille: A community welcoming 35 people in four homes. The region, although rural, is close to the center of Aywaille and allows residents to enjoy a personal and social life, with access to shops, a library, and social and cultural centers. Aywaille is located 20 kilometers from Liège, a student-friendly city that is welcoming and warm.
L'Arche Bierges: A community welcoming 18 people in three homes. Close to the city of Wavre, Bierges is just 20 minutes (by car) from Belgium’s capital, Brussels, and 10 minutes from the student city of Louvain-la-Neuve (a university town). The community of L’Arche in Bierges is located in a semi-urban setting that is easy to reach by public transport.
L'Arche Brussels: A community welcoming around 40 people in four homes. Located in the municipality of Etterbeek, community life in the Belgian capital offers a dynamic and lively rhythm in an urban environment.
L'Arche Namur: A community welcoming 23 people in three homes. The Namur community was founded in 1976. Situated at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, Namur is the capital of Wallonia. It is a vibrant student city that offers an active social and cultural life. The different facilities of the community are located on the outskirts of the city, with the city center easily accessible by public transport.

At L'Arche, we are well aware that young people who wish to volunteer often have little or no professional experience. This is not an obstacle. Everyone has their place within the community and the home, according to their gifts and abilities: what is true for some is true for all.
In fact, the volunteer’s mission is very simple: to be a companion, a life assistant and, over time, a friend to people with disabilities who live in the same home. Their role is to take part in daily life at the home: waking up the residents, preparing meals, assisting with outings and participating in various activities.
Requirements:
Motivation and the desire to live an experience in community life and in the field of disability.
Duration: 12 months (from September 1st to August 31st).
Basic knowledge of French or a willingness to learn (the project is 100% in French).