Home Life Leader

About L’Arche Long Island

L’Arche Long Island is centered around one communal home consisting of 4 adult Core Members with developmental and intellectual disabilities.  A Community Center providing various vocational, social, educational, spiritual and recreational programs and services is located adjacent to the community residence. This center will serve those living in and out of community.

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Position

Home Life Leader

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Location

Eastern Long Island, Suffolk County, New York

Start Date

Immediately

Addtional Info

Assistant to work primarily with male and female Core Members

POSITION SUMMARY

As a member of the Community Support Team the Home Life Leader shares responsibility in the overall growth and direction of L’Arche Long Island. Guided by the mission and charter of L’Arche the Home Life Leader is tasked with supporting the overall quality of life of the Core Members and Assistants living in the community as well as overseeing the general management of the home(s). He/she provides support for the home(s), as well as overseeing orientation, training and formation for Assistants and Volunteers. This role consists of both direct care service related tasks and administrative functions.

 

ROLE OBJECTIVES

  • To create a home life that is at the heart of community life
  • To foster unity among the members of the household based on welcome and respect for differences
  • To foster a family-like atmosphere within the home where household members live, work, pray, and celebrate together; share their joys and their suffering; and forgive each other
  • To ensure that Core Members with disabilities are involved centrally in home life and as much as possible in household decisions concerning them.
  • To deepen his or her own spiritual life and to encourage each member of the household to discover and deepen her or his spiritual life and to live according to her or his particular faith or tradition
  • To encourage Core Members of the household to identify and to seek education, work, activities, and services that will be a source of dignity, growth, and fulfillment for them
  • To live and to call other household members to live a simple lifestyle that gives priority to home life and to relationships within the home
  • To foster an atmosphere of welcome for household guests
  • To facilitate the integration of the household in the life of the neighborhood and to foster relationships with neighbors
  • To organize and coordinate volunteers
  • To work with the service team to meet the requirements of the home as required by licensing and regulatory bodies
  • To facilitate relationships between Core Members and their families

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Know and understand the charter of L’Arche, the key elements of a L’Arche community, the community constitution, and some of the thinking on life in a L’Arche community
  • Assist in establishing a prayer life – prayer before meals, evening prayer with core members, etc.
  •  Assisting in the development and practice of the spiritual life of the home
  • Coordinating household activities and celebrations and household participation in activities and celebrations outside of the home
  • Providing regular individual supervision with Assistants at least twice a month
  • Coordinating household repair and maintenance needs with the Community Leader
  • Organizing, participating in, and supervising the performance of household chores
  • Developing and ensuring the maintenance of a current calendar that includes home life activities, Assistant schedules, and important dates
  • Assist in or designate specific individual to create and maintain records of home life and history, including scrapbooks, photographs, and stories.
  • Assisting core members in learning, recording, and communicating their sacred stories
  • When applicable coordinating relationships among households within the community
  • Welcoming and coordinating the welcoming of household guests in the home
  • Encouraging spiritual accompaniment and facilitating personal accompaniment of others
  • Serving as a member of the community support team and leadership team and, as needed, as a chair or member of community committees.
  • Coordinating weekly team meetings and, as needed, following up on issues that arise in the meeting
  • Assisting the Community Leader in overseeing the household budget; food shopping, household items etc.
  • Reviewing maintenance, fire, and safety schedules each month to check for accuracy and compliance
  • Serving as an Assistant on schedule in the home and accompanying a core member as necessary
  • Performing other duties as assigned by the Community Leader

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

  • 18 years of age or older
  • One plus year experience living in a L’Arche community with a positive recommendation from a previous community/or community’s a plus
  • 1-2-year commitment to the community preferable
  • Meets all Community policies, State, and Federal requirements
  • Strong verbal and written English communication skills
  • College education preferred
  • Obtain valid New York State driver’s license within first 30 days of employment
  • Bilingual proficiency highly desirable
  • Must have the ability to have a flexible schedule

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Physical ability, with reasonable accommodation, to fulfill role responsibilities, including ability to transfer adults from wheelchairs to vehicles, beds, etc. and to lift wheelchairs into and out of vehicles
  • Satisfactory health certificate in accordance with regulatory requirements
L’Arche welcomes applications from people of all ages, races, genders, faiths, and sexual orientations to apply

Click apply now and download the application and email it with your resume to [email protected]