Our Guiding Statements
Our Mission
L’Arche North Carolina cultivates inclusive communities where people across the spectrum of intellectual and developmental disability identities live and flourish together.
Our Vision
We envision a just society where diverse people with and without disabilities thrive.
What is life at L’Arche like?
At L’Arche, we find the sacred in our shared humanity and daily life, and seek to nurture the spiritualities of all people. All of us, whether or not we live with I/DD, desire a sense of belonging.
L’Arche North Carolina hosts inclusive programs friendships are formed, and every gift is celebrated. Our goal is to open a home where meals are shared and a sense of welcome and inclusion are lived out.
Our friends at L’Arche St. Louis produced this video to tell the story of what life is like at L’Arche. Take a look to see the kind of community we envision.
Why this work?
The Triangle needs communities of belonging.
Too many adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue to face limited opportunities for safe, affordable housing and meaningful community life. While housing is essential, everyone deserves more than a place to live. Every person deserves to be known, valued, and surrounded by relationships where they can grow, contribute, and belong.
L’Arche North Carolina opened its first home in Durham in 2025, where adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities share everyday life together. Through shared meals, celebrations, challenges, and friendships, we discover that every person has gifts to offer and that community changes us all.
The need remains great. Thousands of North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue to wait for community-based living options, while funding and the direct care workforce struggle to meet the growing demand.
Our vision extends beyond one home. As we expand through the Friendship Houses and continue to host gatherings across the Triangle, we are creating places where people with and without disabilities share life, build lasting friendships, and discover that everyone belongs.
L’Arche is an international federation of communities where people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities choose to share life together. We believe our differences are not obstacles to overcome, but gifts that help create stronger, more compassionate communities.
Our network
L’Arche North Carolina is accountable to the high standards of L’Arche USA and L’Arche International.
L’Arche North Carolina is a part of L’Arche USA which is a part of L’Arche International. L’Arche communities in the United States provide homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together as peers; create inclusive communities of faith and friendship; and transform society through relationships that cross social boundaries.
L’Arche is a world-wide social movement, bringing about 5,000 individuals with a disability into the heart of their societies, making their voice heard, providing a true home and the opportunity to develop their unique gifts to the fullest. Today, there are 147 member communities of L’Arche in 35 countries. They are united by a common vision and a shared mission expressed in the official Charter of L’Arche.
The Federation seeks to foster solidarity among communities, ensure unity in diversity, establish the conditions for membership, and to create conditions for trust, service, dialogue, and mutual support.
