Episode Details

Today we have a special episode with my dear pals Jimmy and Isabelle. I met Jimmy and Isabelle at L’Arche, a worldwide network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities. When I was 19, I moved to L’Arche in search of a transformed heart. For two years, I lived and worked with Jimmy, Isabelle, and three other people with wildly different intellectual disabilities.

There’s so much I could share about my time at L’Arche, but for today, I’m handing the mic to Jimmy and Isabelle.

Jimmy

Jimmy is rocking his early sixties. He has had a whole bunch of different jobs, including working at a daycare and a curtain factory. Jimmy has a passion for Ancient Egypt, bowling, swimming, drawing and colouring, Hulk superheroes, and the Power Rangers. He has a special notebook in his fanny pack which he uses to write secret messages to the Power Rangers. Jimmy has Down Syndrome and an excellent sense of humour. After 20 years at his L’Arche home the SKiff, he is always looking out for his friends and housemates. Whenever anyone walks through the door, no matter how long it’s been, Jimmy greets them with, “I missed you.”

Isabelle

Isabelle and I are the same age (39 or just about). When we’re together, people always ask if we’re sisters. Isabelle completed her studies at the Montreal School for the Blind, where she was blessed with exceptional teachers like Barbara, Missy, and Juliet. In her youth, Isabelle and I would go swimming, and she’d bravely trust me to push her alongside the river—Isabelle in her wheelchair, me on rollerblades. Everyone survived. Isabelle has complex cerebral palsy, which means she mostly speaks with her eyes, not words, and doesn’t move very much. Her deepest loves include music, prayers, poetry, family, friends, and community.

What you’ll hear today is a just a small glimpse into the worlds of Jimmy and Isabelle. This was originally going to be part of a much larger project. And there’s still time for this. But for now, Jimmy and Isabelle, welcome to This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life.

Episode Notes and Resources

This recording was created and published with Jimmy and Isabelle’s explicit consent.

In 2020, the L’Arche founder Jean Vanier was discovered to have sexually abused several of his mentees. Thankfully, there are no reports of JV abusing L’Arche’s core members, the people with intellectual disabilities. However, the truth is terrible and disappointing. L’Arche has fully acknowledged and apologized for Jean Vanier’s abuse, condemning his actions “without reservation.” To learn more about the horrible revelations, you can read this article. L’Arche has also published a summary of its report on Father Thomas and Jean Vanier.

If you’d like to learn more about my years at L’Arche, I wrote an essay called This Is It. Click here to read This Is It by Erica J. Schmidt.

To learn more about L’Arche, visit L’Arche International and/or L’Arche Canada.

Jimmy and Isabelle live at L’Arche Montréal.

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