Home and Belonging

Before the holidays, I stopped by Sunrise House as Core Members and Assistants were having dinner out on their deck. I was drawn into the laughter as Jimmy teased his housemates. Kurt, whom we welcomed to Sunrise this past summer, confidently taught the others songs and hand motions. Kira joined in with glee. I felt the joy and connection between each person at the table.

Jimmy, right, with his new housemate Kurt

I also had a deep sense of gratitude for the evident camaraderie and sense of home that I was witnessing. Everything L’Arche St. Louis does – housing, meals, individual goal-setting, medical support, celebrations, vacations, work, and social activities – is designed to help each person find their own sense of home and belonging.

On any given evening in our homes you will find people preparing dinner, singing, praying together, and sharing the most immediate concerns of their lives. Local friends and students who find themselves drawn to the L’Arche St. Louis table become regulars. No matter their strength or struggle, people come away changed by their encounters with our culture of kindness and belonging.

This sense of belonging is just as palpable in our Sunrise, Joyful, and St. James homes as it was in my first experience in L’Arche 36 years ago. It is the reason I felt called to stay with L’Arche and continue working with others to create a remarkable community growing in love and compassion every day.

People with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities choosing to share life and create a home together was radical and innovative when the first L’Arche home in North America opened 55 years ago. Creating homes (not just housing) for and with Core Members, the people who are at the center of L’Arche St. Louis, is just as radical and compelling today.

Even though the experience of home and belonging remains the same, our Core Members are aging and their needs are changing. When we opened Sunrise House in 2011 there were no wheelchairs, walkers, or concerns about second-floor bedrooms. At that time, nobody stayed up through the night to provide support. Now, these concerns are top of mind in all three homes.

Supporting our Core Members to age gracefully requires our dedicated and compassionate Assistants to constantly develop new skills. We are committed to providing our Assistants with advanced training so that L’Arche St. Louis can meet the ever-evolving needs of our aging Core Members with the highest-quality 24/7 comprehensive care. This level of care has a high cost, both in terms of human effort and financial resources. Our amazing staff and Board of Directors have fully embraced these costs to achieve the experience of home for each Core Member.

St. James members gather for a celebration

With the high cost of care ever in our minds, we have quietly launched a capital campaign to grow our capacity for the future. By providing excellent care for our Core Members as their needs change, we also elevate the dignity and contributions of all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The campaign will allow us to welcome more Core Members into our community with a brand new lifetime home, designed with full accessibility and adaptability. If you’ve driven by our Activities Center in Brentwood lately, you may have noticed the construction of the new house right next door. In the coming months, we will publicly announce the campaign and invite the community to celebrate this growth with us.

It is a privilege for me to invite you to contribute financially to support the work of L’Arche St. Louis today. Your partnership is about creating loving homes for people who cannot do that for themselves. Perhaps your financial gift is made in gratitude for your own experience of home and belonging.

Our team is already creating an experience of home and belonging for those who are most vulnerable, and they are prepared for the growing complexity of this commitment.

Will you affirm your own commitment to this mission by making a financial investment today?

Your partnership allows us to remain faithful to the Core Members who have come to call L’Arche St. Louis home.

We are grateful! Thank you!

Paula Kilcoyne
Executive Director & Community Leader

P.S. Learn more about the campaign and stay tuned for news and announcements by signing up for our bimonthly email newsletter!