Kyla: Hi guys! Could you please tell me your names?

Brian: My name is Brian.

Nicole: He’s a core member that lives at the L’Arche Long Island residence, and my name is Nicole and I’m the House Leader.

Kyla: Nice. How long have you been with L’Arche?

Brian: I’ve been here for eight months and going on nine months.

Kyla: Okay, cool.

Nicole: Brian just moved in this year. What month did you move in?

Brian: It was April 2nd of this year.

Kyla: Do you like it so far?

Brian: I do. It’s amazing to live with the best groups of friends

Kyla: Nice. How about your Nicole?

Nicole: Actually, October was my three-year anniversary.

Kyla: Oh, nice. That’s fun. And what is a fun fact about you?

Brian: A fun fact. Hmm. I like to party and enjoy my life.

Kyla: That’s a good positive attitude. How about you, Nicole?

Nicole: So, a fun fact about me is that my sister and I have a baking business, and it’s called Sistah Sweets Treats. We make customized treats and desserts.

Kyla: So, fun. How is that going for you?

Nicole: Oh, it’s going great. We are busy every week. It’s great having customers have a vision and then actually making their vision come to life in cake form or dessert form.

Kyla: Nice. That is awesome. So, what does community mean to you?

Brian: To be at L’Arche on this amazing journey.

Kyla: Amazing journey. I like that. Anything else you would like to add?

Nicole: We participate in the community which is great. We have a church down the road that we help out at, and one of our big community things that we do is cleaning up beaches. Reeves Beach is one of the beaches where we go and pick up the trash. At The L’Archie’s we received the Beach Beautifiers Award! That was a big accomplishment for us last year.

Kyla: That’s really nice. And how has being involved with L’Arche impacted you as a person?

Nicole: As a person, it just gives you a better sense of community and family. I absolutely love the L’Arche model. The live-in model is unique too because you’re really sharing in life.

Brian: Yeah, it helpful being around different people who like to be around me.

Kyla: Cool, Awesome. And what does sharing life look like in L’Arche?

Nicole: So, at L’Arche here we have two live-in staff that live here, and we also have live-out staff. So, we have a well rounded community. It’s all about living life, teaching, and learning. We work on a lot of ADLs [Activities of Daily Living], cooking, cleaning, going to community classes, volunteering in the community, etc. We do a lot together, and have a lot of fun, too! Shopping and movies and bowling…

Kyla: Nice. Brian, what’s your favorite thing to do?

Brian: Actually, I just really like to get out and do different things!

Nicole: Yeah, he likes pretty much everything.

Brian: Yeah, pretty much!

Nicole: But… you also have an awesome sticker collection! That’s another fun fact about Brian.

Brian: Yeah, it’s true!

Kyla: That’s is fun. And last question: How do you think L’Arche impacts the world around you?

Brian: It helps with meeting other people in the world.

Nicole: Yes, and in the community! We branch out to other towns and get to meet a variety of different people… We let people know about L’Arche cause a lot of people do not know about L’Arche. So, we educate them and invite them to come and meet us, celebrate with us, and get to know us cause we are fabulous.

Kyla: Okay, that’s good. I agree! Anything you want to add, Brian?

Brian: Just that it’s great being around everybody who I love so much.

Nicole: Right. It’s amazing that you found a home to call your own. And we’re so happy to have Brian!

Kyla: Okay, cool. That’s so great. Thank you guys for being able and willing to participate! Thank you so much.

Nicole: Well thank you!

Brian: Thank you so much! Great to meet you.

Kyla: Bye!

Learn more about L’Arche Long Island at www.larchelongisland.org.