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Founded | August 4, 1964 |
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Founded at | Trosly-Breuil, France |
Type | Non-governmental |
Legal status | Non-profit |
Purpose | To build a world where people with and without intellectual disabilities are friends and equals. |
Headquarters | Paris, France |
Region | 38 countries |
Services | Faith-based community living, housing, programs, employment, empowerment, and support networks |
Members | 10,000+ |
Leader | Sylvain Brabant (interim) |
Key people | Jean Vanier/Raphaël Simi/Phillipe Seux, founders |
Website | www |
L'Arche ("The Ark") is an international federation of non-profit organisations working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together.[1][2] Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Simi, and Philip Seux, L'Arche emerged as a reaction and community-based alternative to the ill-treatment and dismal living conditions in the psychiatric institutions of the 1960s.[3][4] Initially formed in the French commune of Trosly-Breuil, it subsequently expanded to over 150 communities in 38 countries worldwide.[5][6][7][8]
L'Arche is a faith-based organization rooted in Christianity, but is open to people of any faith and people with no religious affiliation.[9]