Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
 
Board
State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
 
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3/16/18  7:43 pm
Commenter: Mary Beth Keaney, Ignatian Volunteer Corps

A critical setback for L’Arche homes
 

 L’Arche is an organization in which developmentally disabled adults, core members, live side by side with assistants who are not disabled.  A L’Arche home becomes a family, with the joys and trials of any family.  In my experience as a L’Arche volunteer, I noticed the love shared between the core members and the assistants as they go about their daily lives, including meals, trips, and work sites.  It is a beautiful model of caring and shared responsibility that would be greatly diminished if the assistants were forced to live apart.  Do not make a law that creates this problem when the present model works beautifully. 

CommentID: 63705