What do core members like about L’Arche?
“A lot of good people there. It has more freedom… there’s free time to do the things that please you.”
– Erin (L’Arche Core Member since 2011)
“It’s fun for me. Loving growth. It’s a lifetime. Community.”
– David (L’Arche Core Member since 1995)
“It’s a great great family. There are great great great friends. I’m happy.”
– Nancy (L’Arche Core Member since 2006)
“Calling the doctors. I like my doctors. I like the food, all the food.”
– Elizabeth (L’Arche Core Member since 2008)
What’s in a name?
Our community, like the city of Seattle, gets its name from the 19th century Duwamish leader, Chief Noah Sealth. We acknowledge that we live on the unceded ancestral land of the Duwamish people, who are still here, and we encourage you to learn more about the Duwamish Tribe.
What do we do?
L’Arche Noah Sealth in Seattle is comprised of three homes and one tight-knit, joyful community. When we are not out adventuring together, you can often find us building community through creativity and art at the Activity Center.
The Activity Center was created in 1985 to provide meaningful and enriching vocational engagement for members of our community. The main work of the Activity Center is the collaborative production of the distinctive L’Arche candles but we have evolved into so much more…
Our Guiding Statements
Our Mission
To make known the gifts of people with developmental disabilities, revealed through mutually transforming relationships;
To foster an environment in community that responds to the changing needs of our members, while being faithful to the core values of our founding story;
To engage in our diverse cultures, working together toward a more human society.
Our Vision
L’Arche Noah Sealth is committed to the well-being of all in our community. This begins with care for our members and our homes. We are passionate about the creativity cultivated in the Activity Center and we invite all stakeholders into the development of new and expanded opportunities offered there. This community will grow and thrive well into the future through its commitment to sustainability, diversity, transparency, and leadership at all levels.
Our Community Mandate
L’Arche Noah Sealth is venturing into a new era, and our 2022-2027 Community Mandate describes why and how we are embarking on this journey. We are committed most of all to the well being of the Core Members in our community. You can read more about where we will be focusing our energy now and into the future to expand and build on the great work of L’Arche over the last 50 years
What is life at L’Arche?
L’Arche Noah Sealth of Seattle is one of 22 communities in the United States that provide homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual disabilities live, work and play together as peers.
Our community on Capitol Hill provides three homes and day activities for eleven people with developmental disabilities (Core Members). They are supported by caregivers (Assistants) who come from around the country and the world to live here and share life together.
We are an inclusive community of faith and friendship. We transform society through relationships that cross social boundaries. Apply today!
“I wasn’t asked to be anything inauthentic… and there was much room given to me in order to find my place in the community and to find out who I was in my relationships with others.
I was simply asked to be more and more myself.”
– Chris Porter, former L’Arche Assistant
Our Network
L’Arche Noah Sealth is accountable to the high standards of L’Arche USA and L’Arche International.
L’Arche Noah Sealth 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 individuals with a disabilities into the hearts of their societies, making their voices heard, providing a true home and the opportunity to develop their unique gifts to the fullest. Today, there are 159 communities of L’Arche in 38 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.
