L'Arche Chicago

L'Arche Chicago L'Arche Chicago is a community of people with and without disabilities sharing life together in faith

Our community is anchored around three homes on the west side of Chicago and Forest Park. In each home, four adults with disabilities ("core members") share life with assistants who come to stay for a year or more.

Home is where we grow together. Over the years, Jean and Anders built a meaningful friendship, supporting each other thr...
11/20/2025

Home is where we grow together. Over the years, Jean and Anders built a meaningful friendship, supporting each other through both life’s challenges and celebrations.

When you support L’Arche Chicago, you’re helping fill each home with laughter, friendship, and belonging. 🏡🧡

Make a gift: https://give.larchechicago.org/donate/creating-home?segmentCode=YE1225EM2

Happy World Kindness Day!🌎🩷✨To celebrate, our community wrote down ways we intend to share the virtue, including sharing...
11/13/2025

Happy World Kindness Day!🌎🩷✨

To celebrate, our community wrote down ways we intend to share the virtue, including sharing a smile, gifting coffee, and holding the door open for a stranger. How will you spread kindness today?

Nelson and Sav, assistants, reflect on the virtue’s presence in community. Sav shared, “I am deeply grateful to be part of a community where kindness isn’t just a value we name, but a way of life we practice together.”

Read the rest of Nelson and Sav's reflection: https://larchechicago.org/about-larche/news/celebrating-kindness/

11/13/2025

On a sunny summer day, a new volunteer, Helen, took on the brave task of learning how to drive manually. Tim, a L’Arche Chicago core member, was even braver for agreeing to sit in the back seat as Helen practiced driving around the neighborhood. Learning to drive manually can be a scary task, but ...

Mark your Calendars! 💌🌟We are excited to announce that the 3rd Annual Laurence's Legacy of Caring will take place on Sat...
11/11/2025

Mark your Calendars! 💌🌟

We are excited to announce that the 3rd Annual Laurence's Legacy of Caring will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2026, from 6:00 - 10:00 pm at St. Ignatius College Prep, 1076 Roosevelt Rd. Chicago, IL.

Keep an eye out for tickets, which go on sale in January! Expect a night filled with Live NCAA Tournament Basketball, Games, Raffle Prizes, an auction — and more!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Heart of L'Arche Dinner and Benefit at the 19th Century Club. The evening w...
10/22/2025

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Heart of L'Arche Dinner and Benefit at the 19th Century Club. The evening was full of delicious food, dear friends, and a delightful performance by our core members and assistants.❤️🎉

We are deeply moved by your support of our L'Arche Chicago Community. Together, we raised over $14,000 to support our core members and Angel House renovations.
https://larchechicago.org/event/2025-heart-of-larche-dinner-and-benefit/

We were overjoyed to welcome Senate President Don Harmon this morning for a tour of our new home, St. Joseph House. We s...
10/22/2025

We were overjoyed to welcome Senate President Don Harmon this morning for a tour of our new home, St. Joseph House. We sincerely appreciate Senator Harmon’s continued support of our community. During his visit, he spoke with Davey, one of our core members known for his political advocacy, about the issues that matter most to him.

Thank you for stopping by, Senator Harmon! We hope to see you again soon.

Read more about the visit on our blog: https://larchechicago.org/about-larche/news/senator-don-harmon-visits-larche-chicago/

Our community is full of smiles and creativity as core members create their silent auction projects for the Heart of L’A...
10/16/2025

Our community is full of smiles and creativity as core members create their silent auction projects for the Heart of L’Arche Dinner & Benefit this Sunday, October 19, at the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park! 🎨❤️

We can’t wait to see you there! Check out our event webpage to learn more details: https://larchechicago.org/event/2025-heart-of-larche-dinner-and-benefit/

Anders, Cassie, and Mic had a wonderful time traveling to Portland, OR, with L'Arche USA’s Inclusive Leadership Group. T...
10/13/2025

Anders, Cassie, and Mic had a wonderful time traveling to Portland, OR, with L'Arche USA’s Inclusive Leadership Group. Together with other core members and assistants from across the country, Anders and Cassie shared ways every community can incorporate more inclusive practices into its processes.🌳✈️

Next time you see Anders, be sure to ask him about his trip! He'll be thrilled to tell you about his visit to Multnomah Falls and Powell’s bookstore, as well as a tour of L'Arche Portland’s homes and their chicken coop.

Read more about the trip here: https://larchechicago.org/about-larche/news/anders-visits-portland-with-the-inclusive-leadership-group/

Throughout this year, we’ve been joyfully celebrating L’Arche Chicago’s 25th anniversary. In the midst of the festivitie...
10/09/2025

Throughout this year, we’ve been joyfully celebrating L’Arche Chicago’s 25th anniversary. In the midst of the festivities, we’ve deeply felt the absence of our very first core member, Elbert, who passed away in 2023.

Elbert was a calm and joyful presence in our community. His patience, hospitality, and kindness gave us strong roots and shaped many of the values and traditions we hold dear. He was a man of deep faith, always giving thanks to “the man above” for each new day and its blessings, a practice that continues to inspire us.

At every celebration, Elbert’s spirit is with us. And whenever it rains, Jean, the second core member to join L’Arche, often smiles and says, “Elbert’s up there making some noise.”

This morning, our hearts were touched when the St. Mary's Quilters, who were unaware today would've been Elbert's birthday, gifted L'Arche Chicago a quilt in his honor.

Happy heavenly birthday, Elbert! We are forever grateful for the joy and love you brought to our community.🧡🎱

Grace has truly found her place at L’Arche Chicago. She first joined our community several years ago as a part-time assi...
10/06/2025

Grace has truly found her place at L’Arche Chicago. She first joined our community several years ago as a part-time assistant. In 2022, Grace stepped away to focus on her career as an Occupational Therapist, but she continued to show up as a close friend and supporter of the community.💛

We are overjoyed to welcome Grace back in an official role as our new Program Manager!

“I couldn’t stay away for long. I feel incredibly blessed to be back with L’Arche Chicago—my community where I’ve always belonged,” Grace shares.🏡

Read Grace’s reflection on her journey with L’Arche on our blog: https://larchechicago.org/about-larche/news/it-began-with-a-simple-word-friend/

Address

7507 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL
60130

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17086601600

Website

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Come and see

Our mission is to celebrate the unique value of each person and to create lifelong places of belonging through our three Chicago homes that empower residents to share their gifts with their neighborhood, city, country and world.

L’Arche Chicago was founded in 2000 by Sr. Maria Zeimen when she welcomed Elbert Lott and Jean Wilson to live in community in a home on the West Side of the city. Almost twenty years later, the Chicago community continues to live together in a spirit of belonging, support and peace-making. We aim to be a sign that a more humane world is possible.

We welcome you to “come and see” the joy and magic that is L’Arche Chicago.