Life under lockdown: How L'Arche lives a community credo during a time of isolation
L'Arche community members in Wolfville, N.S. are typically on the move. That's changed during COVID-19
Life under lockdown: CBC is speaking to Nova Scotians in unusual situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This four-part series introduces you to the spiritual side of isolation experienced by monks; a practical guide to physical distancing from a person living on Sable Island; insights into keeping community without a physical community from L'Arche Homefires; and how to parent, work and study — all by yourself.
The L'Arche communities for people with intellectual disabilities take their name from Noah's Ark, and the image of a small, isolated group riding out a global storm has taken on extra meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
L'Arche has about 150 communities around the world, including four in Nova Scotia. People with intellectual disabilities (known as core members) share their homes and lives with assistants, who often stay for several years.
L'Arche Homefires in Wolfville, N.S., has about 50 members and, usually, they are in constant motion between the community's five homes, its workshops, retirement programs and Applewicks store.
"We were bouncing around all over the place," says Maya Ranvig, who has been an assistant in L'Arche Homefires for six years. "Now my life has really come down to hanging out in one of our L'Arche homes. We don't go out into the broader community now."
Core member Tony Hope usually packs his days with walking, swimming, working, volunteering, and visiting family and friends. When the COVID outbreak first reached Nova Scotia, he was confined to his neighbourhood. Now, he's stuck in his house with a few other core members and assistants. They don't leave the property — not even to walk around the block.
"We're waiting until the thing is all gone and then we can go back to our normal life," he says over the phone. He's cheerful and enjoying what he can in his shrunken world.
"I like putting away laundry, listening to music, stuff like that. I like going outside and walking [in the backyard] and playing basketball — we have a basketball court out in the back," he says.
At Easter, the Christian-rooted community typically gathers in their hall for the washing of the feet and a meal. This year, it happened online through a shared video call and symbolic paper feet. Recently, a dance challenge swept the community and houses shared their choreographed moves via video.
"We were still able to see everybody on the screens. It was really beautiful," Ranvig says. "I didn't feel we didn't share that moment together; we just shared it in a different way."
They've also challenged each other to write poetry on social media, where they also regularly post photos and videos to keep connected while everyone shelters in place.
Ranvig says it's keeping the homefires burning, but she yearns for a return to face-to-face meetings. "One of the things I love the most is how involved our core members are in the greater Wolfville community," she says.
Many usually volunteer in the fire station, at restaurants, or with seniors or children. "It's hard to explain what's going on right now to the core members and the people we love," she says.
The loss of the bigger community has come with a deepening of the smaller one. Hope and Ranvig say they've noticed how each member of their household has become closer to the few people they do see.
"It's really opened up the opportunity to share a little more about ourselves with each other, with people we wouldn't often get a chance to do," Ranvig says. "The pace of my own life has really slowed down. We've really gone back to the simplicity of spending time together."