Volunteers reflect on joys of community at L’Arche Highland
Sponsored Editorial with L’Arche Highland
Valerie Weir is reflecting on 12 happy years volunteering at L’Arche Highland – an Inverness-based community for people with and without learning disabilities. Sitting beside her is Gregor, one of the people at L’Arche with whom she has a special bond.
“I started volunteering at L’Arche’s garden workshops after I retired,” she said. “It’s such an inclusive place, everyone’s opinion is sought no matter who they are. I met Gregor when he started at workshops 18 months ago. It’s lovely to see how much he’s grown. When he started, he wasn’t very talkative – but one day, he got to the stage where he started winding me up. He said, ‘Valerie, did you know there are snakes in the garden?’ I wasn’t too sure, but he was delighted.”
Gregor says Val is fun to wind up and he feels “proud” to work with her because she has taught him so much about gardening – he’s even started planting at home - though his favourite thing is that she makes him smile.
L’Arche Highland consists of four residential homes around Inverness, as well as a busy workshops site where people with learning disabilities gain experience in candle-making, woodwork, gardening and life skills.
Pat Whitely has spent six years volunteering every Wednesday at L’Arche’s workshops reflected with Roisin on the relationship they have developed together.
“Roisin is always helping people,” Pat said. “She knows what each person needs. When she started in the garden, she was a bit nervous and didn’t like getting cold or dirty, but one day she got so dirty she just started loving it! Now she does all sorts of jobs like delivering the post and teaching people Sign Language. She makes me laugh so much, sometimes I feel like my heart will burst when I’m with her.”
Volunteers also make a huge contribution to L’Arche’s residential houses, where people are supported to lead thriving, independent daily lives. Volunteers take part in a wide range of activities, including befriending individuals, driving vehicles, or helping out with community gatherings and celebrations.
William Cox and Syd work together every Monday doing odd jobs around the community. William runs a property maintenance company but visits L’Arche for a couple of hours each week.
“It’s good because it gets me out of the house a bit,” Syd said.
“Syd is a great worker,” said William. “Everything he does, he does really well. We come out here to enjoy ourselves. When we get tired, we stop, because we’re not young men, are we Syd?”
“I’m not saying anything,” was Syd’s reply!
Anne Shaw started volunteering with L’Arche more than 30 years ago. She loved it so much that she took on a variety of roles, even becoming community leader at one stage. Now she has retired, she still volunteers at Saorsa House in Kinmylies.
Anne is especially close with Lil and Libby. She meets them every week for walks or coffees, swimming, or trips away. Libby particularly loves going to Anne’s house and taking her dog for a walk.
“Lil and Libby are my friends, as opposed to somebody I support,” she said. “I prefer going out for coffee with these two than I do with lots of people!
“Lil is a very kind person. She doesn’t just think about herself – she thinks about other people’s friends, families, how they are. She’s very sociable and active. Once we went to Iona and she was like a mountain goat, climbing all the hills – she was in her 60s then! In Lil’s words, she’s always ‘fit and fine’.
“Libby is a great person to be friends with because she remembers everything. She’s very responsible. If she comes to my house, she’ll take things out and lay the table. She likes helping people, making sure they are OK.”
L’Arche Highland is always looking for new volunteers to help our community grow and flourish. It doesn’t matter how much time or experience you have to offer – if you’re friendly, caring and keen to learn, we’d love to hear from you.
To find out more, please visit https://www.larche.org.uk/highland-volunteer, or contact Haroun Hameed, Volunteer Coordinator, on +447918215002.
