Jean Vanier offers a simple summary of the purpose of the small community he began in 1964: "The secret of L'Arche is relationship: meeting people heart to heart; listening to people with their pain, their joy, their hope, their history." Harder to describe are the profound effects of life together on L'Arche's members, both the developmentally disabled "core members" and the "assistants" who care for their needs.
