Summer in the Forest

Summer in the Forest is a full-length feature film about our founder Jean Vanier and the L’Arche communities in Trosly, France and Bethlehem. It tells how two L’Arche communities, though quite different from those in the UK, share our common values.

You can purchase a digital copy of the film through iTunes.Unfortunately, UK copies of the DVD are unavailable.

If you would like to arrange a private showing of Summer in the Forest, then please be in touch. Contact [email protected] or call us on 0161 438 2832.

Summer in the Forest is a thought-provoking film, which invites viewers to reflect upon their own experience, and understanding, of people with learning disabilities. You may wish to watch the film as part of a group. To encourage reflection and discussion, we have prepared some questions to consider.

In your opinion, what were the three most important 'teachable' moments in the film? What might they teach us?
What do you understand to be the film’s core message about people with learning disabilities, community, and the human condition? Do you agree with what the film appears to be saying?
At what point did you notice people with disabilities speaking for themselves? What did you hear?
At what point did you hear other people speaking for them? What did you hear?
Women are not well represented in the film. Why do you think that is, and how did that make you feel?
What inspired you?
What upset you, if anything, and why?
How does the film help you to understand the mind and heart of the founder of L’Arche, Jean Vanier?
What did you learn from the film that you did not already know?
How has watching the film changed you?

Latest

Administration and Finance Officer, L'Arche Manchester

Salary between £9.30 and £9.54 /hour (£10,881 to £11,162/year) depending on experience Part-time: 3 days per week; initially for 6 months.
Impact Report 2019

Read how your support during the last twelve months has helped build better, brighter futures for people with learning disabilities.
James' story

'You can’t make things perfect here. Instead you learn to use the imperfect things as gifts.’
House Leader, L'Arche Preston

£22,173 - £23,379 (40 hours a week). Offered as a permanent role.

Words of the World

L’Arche International has produced an extraordinary project Words of the World - a digital collection of interviews with 34 people with learning disabilities from 34 different countries. All are members of L’Arche Communities from the four corners of the world.
#AsIAm

Filmed in 12 L’Arche communities around the world, L’Arche International’s Web Series, “As I Am” is an invitation to imagine the world differently and to rejoice in who you are as you are.

Residential vacancies

L'Arche live-in assistants live and work in our Communities with and alongside people with learning disabilities. They provide them care and support. Apply here.
Join us as an assistant

Spend a year as an assistant and we will give you an experience of difference that will change your life.
L'Arche in the UK

There are twelve L’Arche Communities based across the UK, where persons with and without learning disabilities live together. Volunteers and care workers are providing support. They try to promote Jean Vanier philosophy. All faiths are welcomed.
What we do

In a world that values winning, L’Arche Communities are places where people with and without learning disabilities can discover who they are and not just what they can do.
Statement from L'Arche, following the verdict at the inquest into the death of Joe Ulleri

Speaking outside the Coroner’s Court in Manchester, Kevin Coogan, Community Leader of L’Arche Manchester, read out the following statement on behalf of L’Arche.
Jean Vanier: Biography

Jean Vanier founded L'Arche in 1964, after becoming aware of the plight of thousands of people with learning disabilities who were institutionalised in France. He was an inspiring teacher whose life was testament to a radically different way of living and being in the world. He created a Community where people with and without learning disabilities were living together.
Summer in the Forest

Summer in the Forest is a full-length feature film about our founder Jean Vanier and the L’Arche communities in Trosly, France and Bethlehem. It tells how two L’Arche communities, though quite different from those in the UK, share our common values, and shows how people with learning disabilities and assistants / care workers that support them are living together.
L’Arche statement following the recent BBC Panorama documentary and the release of the CQC report into the detainment of people with learning disabilities

The Panorama programme aired by the BBC on Wednesday 22nd May showing the abuse of people with learning disabilities, and the recently published CQC report revealing the detainment of people with learning disabilities and autism in ATUs (Assessment and Treatment Units), once again reveals the appalling mistreatment and abuse experienced by some of society’s most vulnerable people.
Jean Vanier interview: belonging in a time of loneliness.

We interviewed Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche, at his home in the L'Arche Trosly Community in France. Listen to Jean as he reflects on ageing and fragility, loss and loneliness, and the mystery that compels people to L'Arche.
Supported living

While some individuals wish to live in a home with other people, others prefer to be supported to live independently. At L’Arche we help people to choose a way of life that feels right for them, and for their families.