L'Arche is an international federation of non-profits working to create networks of community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Founded in 1964 by Jean Vanier, Raphaël Simi, and Philip Seux, L'Arche emerged as a reaction and community-based alternative to the ill-treatment and dismal living conditions in the psychiatric institutions of the 1960s. Initially formed in the French commune of Trosly-Breuil, it subsequently expanded to over 150 communities in 38 countries worldwide. Community L'Arche homes and programs operate according to a not-for-profit "community model" which is distinct from "client-centered", medical, or social service models of care. At L'Arche, people with disabilities, and those who assist them, live together in homes and apartments, sharing life with one another and building community as responsible adults. everyone is believed to have the capacity to grow and to mature into adulthood, and to make a contribution to society, regardless of the physical or intellectual limitations with which they may be living; and the important goals of achieving personal growth and maturing socially as an adult are things which are understood to be nurtured most effectively within the context of a community whose policies and practices support and promote, among other things: the development of long-term, mutual, interdependent relationships; the maintenance of a stable, life-giving home environment; the training and ongoing formation of those who provide assistance to community members with disabilities; and cooperation with outside professional care providers. L'Arche is a faith-based organization rooted in Christianity, but is open to people of any faith and people with no religious affiliation. History In 1964, through his friendship with Thomas Philippe, a Roman Catholic priest of the Dominican Order, Vanier became aware of the plight of thousands of people institutionalized with developmental disabilities. Vanier felt led by God to invite two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, to leave the institutions where they resided and share their lives with him in a household in Trosly-Breuil, France. He named their home "L'Arche", which is French for "The Ark", as in Noah's Ark. A collection of audiovisual material from L'Arche Trosly-Breuil is available at the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. The first community in Canada, L'Arche Daybreak, was founded in 1969 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, near Toronto. Sue Mosteller, who lived with the Daybreak community for 40 years, acted as L'Arche's first International Coordinator after Jean Vanier. Dutch priest