Assistants

Daily Life of L'Arche Assistants

Responsibilities

It is important to realise that being in L'Arche is very much about 'living with' rather than 'doing for' others.

Within this are the practical steps of assisting people to become more independent, so that they can participate more fully in community life, and in the wider community.

An assistant, after a time, will be asked to be responsible for the daily and weekly needs of people in the household - to be a referene in such matters as hygiene, work, and individual learning programmes.  It may also mean accompanying a person to a doctor, dentist or psychologist.

The assistant will also be asked to fulfil certain roles within the house such as shopping, cooking and driving.

A typical day in a community house would be the getting-up routine, breakfast, getting to work (on weekdays) or home or leisure activities (weekends), lunch (weekends), quiet time, chat or relaxation time, evening meal (sometimes with friends or other household members), prayer or quiet time, bedtime.

Accountability

On a day-to-day basis, the assistant is responsible and accountable to the House Co-ordinator, who directs and shapes the life of the house.  The assistant will also participate in a formation programme to help understand more clearly the structures adn philosophy of a L'Arche community and to grow in competence in responding to the needs of people with a disability.

Trial Period

An Assistant coming to L’Arche for the first time is asked to come for an initial period of three months before making a commitment for the remainder of the year in the Community.

The trial period allows the Assistant to build relationships and to see if their choice to live in a Community has been a sound one, both personally and for the Community.  This time allows one to develop trust, friendship and mutual respect rather than be an “authority” for the people.

The L’Arche Assistant needs to develop professional skills but is primarily a fellow Community Member. The opportunity is there to grow and to share one’s gifts with the Community.  Above all, Community means to be in relationship with one another. The new Assistant is invited to come as a friend, to be open and learn the traditions and rhythm of life in the home.

The long-term members of the Community welcome new people into their lives each year, and they receive much from those who come. But the traditions of the community and the households belong first to those who have lived there over time, so a new Assistant is asked to be respectful of these.

Salaries and Holidays

Assistants are paid realistic salaries which are set by each of the Australian L'Arche communities, according to local practice and the resources available.  Live-in Assistants pay board and contribute to a house's food costs.

Communities develop their own policies around "time away" - which includes days away each week and holidays.  Holidays are of two kinds - the Assistant's own holiday of four weeks each 12 months, and community holidays.

Generally, the Assistant's holidays can be arranged after discussion with the Community Leader and house team and are taken towards the conclusion of your time in the community.

When the community goes on holiday as a group, the Assistant will be asked to accompany people on the group holiday.

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