Ingrid Blais: an undeniable force with L’Arche Homefires
Ingrid Blais was steeped in the human connections fostered by L’Arche well before she became a community leader at Wolfville’s L’Arche Homefires 20 years ago.
She began in her native Ireland and branched out in Edmonton. At her initial Wolfville interview, she recalls looking around the circle and seeing a real need for someone who cared deeply... “so I hauled my four kids 3,000 miles because I love L’Arche.”
When she arrived after a 10-day drive with her husband, Rosaire, and the youngsters, Ingrid found a big welcome banner and lots of balloons. They knew they’d found home.
Ingrid paused recently to consider just how much has changed for L’Arche Homefires. She believes a world of respect and understanding has been built into society’s view of individuals with disabilities and those traits are on display daily in Wolfville. She also observes that the core members feel a greater sense of empowerment.
When Ingrid arrived, none of the homes in the community were licensed. A trained social worker, she moved ahead on that project, which allowed the community to welcome a greater number of core members. There are 20 now. The second big project was to negotiate a decent budget with the provincial Department of Community Services.
“We were grossly underfunded,” Ingrid recalled.
Those early years were a kind of baptism by fire. Staff were underpaid. She laughs remembering her quest for financial justice and uses the dog with a bone comparison.
“It was a big relief when we got a better funding model,” she said. She added that the Nova Scotia Residential Agencies Association was a phenomenal help for her by providing collaborative peers.
This Irish native and Queens Jubilee Medal winner just retired from her duties at the helm, having cemented a new L’Arche building into a prominent spot on Main Street.
There have been so many human highlights of Ingrid’s two decades as community leader. One that stands out occurred several years ago. Ingrid was able to help reunite sisters Coral Rafuse and Candace Bird with their sister, core member Machelle Hubley. The sisters had been separated for close to five decades; Machelle having been placed in foster care as a toddler with mental and physical challenges.
In the 1980s she was the first female core member in L’Arche Homefires. It was extremely heartwarming, she said, to reconnect Machelle’s family. Now she has relatives to visit at holiday times like Christmas.
Refashioning and expanding the old Anglican parish hall into the L’Arche building became a serious occupier of her time about seven years ago. Fundraising started in earnest five years ago and without a dedicated staff person to go after funds, Ingrid was actively carrying out that work and running the community.
Many stepped forward to help. The process was enlarged by the meaningful contribution of Acadia University students. The students’ union became a partner in raising funds and two students each year joined the L’Arche board.
An adult version of the popular SMILE program started on Friday evenings and it has grown. The Best Buddies program at Acadia has also bolstered the community and expanded into the Community Living Alternative Society (CLAS).
L’Arche has many other community connections. The community, for example, leads prayers at the Wolfville Nursing Home on a bi-monthly basis. I’ve watched the non-verbal connections that have developed between people with disabilities and those with Alzheimer’s. Ingrid says the links between people are a mystery sometimes, but relationship is at the centre. She celebrates the fact that a core member was recently hired by the Bad Apple Brewhouse, where the owners have a young son with Down syndrome. The personal and spiritual dimension to L’Arche, I have no doubt, feeds such connections.
The five L’Arche homes locally are linked to an international network of 147 communities in 35 countries.
“The world needs us,” says Ingrid. “It is a privilege to welcome people with disabilities.”
She describes a 22-year-old man who comes to L’Arche as an assistant and begins caring for a petit, but severely disabled, non-verbal core member. Human links sometimes seems like a huge miracle.
After a huge, warm send-off late last month, Ingrid has been sorting out her New Minas home and wondering what will be next. “I love what I do,” she says. “It’s authentic to me. The fact that I’ve been allowed to do it is a joy.”
If she has any regrets, Ingrid says, it is the fact that this province still has institutions that house people with disabilities. That reality is a significant human rights concern for her.
The current case involving individuals with disabilities lodged in psychiatric hospitals that is before the courts is a personal concern for her, so she acknowledges that advocacy efforts are in her future.
“It’s just wrong. Forty years ago, in Ireland, they closed the institutions.”
Her aim has always been to open doors. She believes firmly that people with disabilities have unique gifts that should be shared with the greater community. Who among us can honestly say on retirement, “I have loved it. I’ve had the best 20 years.”
Kudos, Ingrid!