Looking for a career change? Want to take a gap year? Become an assistant with L’Arche! Assistants are trained as Direct Support Professionals to provide quality care for core members (people with intellectual disabilities) at L’Arche. Together, assistants and core members create the unique pulse of life in a L’Arche community.
This role builds incredible personal and professional skills that set assistants up for exciting future opportunities.
Roles and qualifications
While the primary role of all L’Arche members is to build community, assistants also become professional caregivers who support core members in life goals, activities of daily living, financial management, medical care, transportation, and more. Assistants help to maintain L’Arche homes by preparing meals, tending the gardens, cleaning common spaces, and doing other household tasks.
Live-in vs. Live-out:
Live-in assistants live in a L’Arche home with other assistants and core members, supporting the home during scheduled hours. Live-out assistants live elsewhere but support the L’Arche home during scheduled hours. These are paid positions.
To be an assistant, you must:
- Be at least 18-21 years old depending on the locale of the L’Arche community.
- Have an interest in building intentional community.
- Show capacity for creativity, flexibility, attention to detail, and teamwork.
- Desire to work and develop mutual relationships with people with disabilities.
Applicants should note that having the above qualifications does not guarantee placement with a L’Arche community in the United States.
International applicants
As members of an international federation, L’Arche welcomes assistants across cultures and nations. L’Arche is committed to celebrating diversity in every capacity, and welcoming assistants from other cultural origins makes our communities stronger and more accepting to all.
Sadly, in recent years it has become more difficult to welcome international assistants due to restrictions in U.S. visa regulations and individual state regulations. Most of our communities are unable to accept any international volunteers, or only a limited number. Please review these notes before investing time in the application process:
- Please be aware that international assistants are responsible for their own visa and travel costs.
- We are not allowed to pay assistants who are in the U.S. on a volunteer visa. Those assistants receive only room, board, and reimbursement for basic expenses.
- Assistants must be fluent in English (written and spoken).
- Assistants must have an openness to live in an inclusive, interfaith community setting and support the personal growth of L’Arche members.
We recommend that international applicants consider serving in a L’Arche community in or near their home country or elsewhere within L’Arche International prior to applying to L’Arche USA.
Ready to join?
At L’Arche USA, we highly encourage all applicants to apply directly to the individual community of their choosing. We have an entire site dedicated to helping you learn more about the assistant role and discern the location that is right for you! Click the button below to visit the site where you can watch videos featuring real L’Arche assistants, explore community profiles, and contact the locations that interest you today. Good luck!
Have you already explored www.livelarche.org? Are you open to any L’Arche community? Please fill out the interest form below. If you pass primary qualifications, your information will be forwarded to a L’Arche community with vacant positions. Thank you!
