Origins of L’Arche
L’Arche began in 1964 in France, when two men with intellectual disabilities were invited to live outside of an institution. This was a response to the harsh and isolating conditions many people with disabilities faced at the time.
Instead of institutional care, L’Arche created homes centered on friendship, dignity, and shared life, where people with and without disabilities live together as equals.
This simple idea spread worldwide and become a network of communities focused on belonging and mutual relationships.
Founding of L’Arche Erie
L’Arche Erie was founded in 1972, making it the first L’Arche community in the United States. Founders, Fr. George Strohmeyer and Sr. Barbara Karsznia, brought the L’Arche vision to Erie to create a local community where people with and without intellectual disabilities could share daily life, not just services. Some of the first Core Members came from Polk State Center, which was a large state institution. This transition wasn’t just a move for these Core Members; it was a completely different way of life. The Core Members became known personally. They lived in homes and not wards. They developed relationships and meaningful lives together. These Core Members were people who had been separated from society and became the center of a new kind of community.
From the beginning, L’Arche Erie was not just a care facility. It was built on a different, more unique idea where people with disabilities are not “clients” or “consumers.” They are Core Members because they are the heart of L’Arche’s mission and are the core of community life. This uniqueness emphasized a model of mutuality instead of hierarchy, belonging instead of isolation, and gifts instead of deficits.
Since 1972, L’Arche Erie has become part of a global federation of L’Arche communities in dozens of countries around the world. L’Arche continues to create homes and programs in Erie County. Most importantly, L’Arche Erie continues to influence and challenge how people think about disability, community, and human dignity.
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