L'Arche Edinburgh is based around three homes and an office with community resource rooms above. Two houses are home to 4 people with learning disabilities (core members) and 4 – 6 live-in assistants. There are also some live-out assistants. Our third house, a flat, opened in the summer of 2008. A L’Arche community is also like an extended family and in Edinburgh the community also comprises a wide network of members and friends who live locally and are involved in a variety of ways. These include families with children, Committee members, pastoral ministers, former assistants who live locally and remain active friends. We are a very diverse group from all walks of life, some of our disabilities are obvious, some are hidden but all of us share in the mission of L’Arche, of changing the world one heart at a time.

At different times and in different places, members join together to 'live community,' to offer something of themselves for the benefit of all in L'Arche. Community gatherings are held every month.

Community life is often rich, but it can also be a struggle as members grapple with the challenges of their disability, or with the unexpected events of life. But above all, members are pledged to be faithful in their friendship to one another. Each person has a unique gift to offer; a gift that will freely flourish within relationships of mutuality.
 
read about the history of our community