Accompany our members on walks around our local area (West Norwood and Tulse Hill) and befriend people who see the world differently to you. If you enjoy walking or would like to do more exercise, and would like to make some friends and join a fun community, this is the perfect opportunity for you. No previous experience with people with learning disabilities or in care is required.
Walking with people is a lovely, lowkey way to get to know them. It gives you something to connect on and talk about without the pressure of a sit-down conversation. If you're trying to do some more exercise and also make new friends, this is the perfect way to achieve your goals. It would also give you the chance to join a fun intentional community with lots of events like parties and barbeques. At L'Arche, you are welcomed for who are, not what you can do.
Lots of our members love going on walks and being outside. You would meet the person at their house and then go for a walk for about an hour around local area. You might go to the West Norwood Cemetery or Brockwell Park, or walk around the local streets. You could also accompany members at our community walk around West Norwood Cemetery which would be a great way to get to know the wider community.
There is not a particularly high fitness level required. You would need to be able to walk for an hour, and some of our members are in wheelchairs so you might need to be able to push a wheelchair. But we walk slowly in L'Arche London!
Time commitment
The length of time you can support with this depends on you. We would love to have longer term volunteers who can commit to coming for a year or so. However, if this doesn't work for you or you're only around for a few months in London, get in touch and we'll work something out.