It is a joy to introduce myself to you! My name is Anna and I am the most recent addition to the L’Arche USA Team. As the Development Coordinator, I support fundraising, communication, and relationship-building efforts- recognizing that each member of the greater-L’Arche network plays a vital role in advancing the rights and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prior to joining the L’Arche USA Team, I worked and lived within L’Arche homes, providing direct care as an Assistant. In honor of DSP Appreciation Week, I would love to offer a reflection today on the sacred work of providing direct support. Before we get started, I invite you to find a comfortable seat and to take a moment to ground yourself in the present.
Let’s begin.
Imagine you are solely reliant on another person to support you in bathing. You have a newly hired staff member whom you have met only once, and they are now about to help you shower. How are you feeling entering this situation?
Pause and take a moment to be with yourself.
Receiving care from another person is an incredibly vulnerable and brave act, especially in a society that has taught us the “right way” is to be self-reliant and independent. What if, however, we normalized the idea that receiving support from others is necessary and good?
As an Assistant, I had the honor of receiving invitations into the most vulnerable parts of people’s lives on a daily basis. When I first began living and working at L’Arche, I met Michael, a core member who would become a very important friend in my life. I remember his anxiety and hesitation when I first supported him in transferring to his shower chair, grasping the metal rails, both he and I uncertain if my hands were strong enough to catch him if he fell. It was those moments of sticking through the anxiety, day after day, that allowed our trust to grow. It was the counting down from three and the gentle squeeze of the hand, signaling that we were in this together.
These relationships take deep trust. Michael taught me the beautiful mutuality that exists when we allow ourselves to be fully present; present in the laughter, in the anxiety, in the joy, in the frustration, in the full range of human emotion. DSP’s receive that invitation to be present to the fullness of each person each day, and what a sacred invitation that is.
May we all “be here” today, as core member, Fritz, would say — present to ourselves and one another.
Michael and Anna enjoy cups of coffee together
