Our Community
Brecon is a small cathedral town set in the heart of rural Wales in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park.
L'Arche has now been in Brecon for twenty years, invited by the then headmaster of Penmaes School because of his awareness of the worries parents had for the future of their children with a learning disability.
L'Arche Brecon has one house, “Glasfryn” in the Llanfaes area. Glasfryn was built in the 1970‟s and is a home for up to four people with learning difficulties and five live-in assistants, each with their own bedroom. In addition, everybody shares the facilities of the rest of the house - kitchen, dining room, sitting room, four bathrooms, guest room, quiet room and garden. It has a downstairs bedroom, bathroom and doorways suitable for use by a wheelchair user.
The house is
near to St. David's Church in Llanfaes, within walking distance from
the town centre. The community owns a "people car-
rier‟ (with 8
seats), which is available like a “family car” for the use and benefit
of all community members living in the house.
Some assistants share life with the core members in the house with the idea of making it feel like a home, others come in from the local community. The community share holidays and other events with other L'Arche Communities.
We
like going out for trips in the beautiful countryside around here, in
the warmer weather for picnics but in winter lots of things happen at
the theatre and leisure centre in Brecon. We try to live well with each
other and encourage one another to lead a life of fulfilment in every
possible way.
Our future goal is to offer a choice for people with a learning disability through a variety of housing options, which will enable individuals to grow to their full potential and recognise their changing needs.
We are at present researching the possibilities of setting up a project to offer the people we support and others with learning disabilities in the area the opportunity of more meaningful employment. The project plans have two components, those of sheltered employment and supported employment.
It is hoped this will help meet the needs of those at present largely excluded from the work place, who have skills and ambitions, much to offer and whose potential will grow from the experience of regular work.
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