List of identified target groups

Teenagers (high school)
Among others, students from schools in which they are asked to volunteer a certain number of hours per year in community organizations. E.g.: international programs.
Role: contribution to different occasional tasks as support volunteers. Ideal to raise awareness of potential local assistants.
See high schools.

Youth (18 years and more) :

Young local assistants
Young people corresponding to the profile of the assistant: people with natural empathy and sensitive to social and community engagement.
Role: live-in assistant
See community organizations, awareness programs like Katimavik and Canada World Youth, employment centers, summer camps for the disabled, etc.

Young assistants from other countries or regions
Young assistants who already worked in L’Arche or in other community organizations in different countries. Young people from countries (e.g. Germany) that encourage them to do community work for one year before going back to their studies. Young people that are naturally more able to live in community, attracted by the perspective of a new environment and who don’t live the division of young people working in their own region.
Role: live-in assistant
See international programs and the expertise developed by some communities.

Youth in higher education, university of pre-professional
Young people who come to L’Arche for an internship to prepare their entry in the labour market (internship compatible with their career orientation, e.g. orthopedagogy, social work, caregiving, etc).
Role: they generally give extra part-time assistance. Can eventually lead to an assistant commitment.
See internship and employment programs in universities.

Job-seeking youth
Young people who often never thought of committing themselves to social of community life but are desperately looking for a job. They usually start as support assistants and aren’t necessarily ready to live in the community.
See specialized employment centers, e.g. Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi in Quebec (equivalents in other provinces?)

Adults

Ethnic groups, immigrants and newcomers
Groups of people who frequently belong to cultures that are very much less individualistic than the dominant North American culture, especially when they come from Southern or developing countries. Some are naturally more open to make the “concessions” related to living in houses compared to the average of North Americans, particularly when they experience difficulties finding jobs.
Role: live-in assistant.
See employment centers, integration organizations, ethnic communities and immigrants associations

Adults in life and career reorientation
Mature adults who already have a good professional and/or life experience (ex. parents of grown-up childs leaving the parental home). People at mid-life who after living a long time under pressure, with lots of stress from seeking social and economic performance, are questioning themselves, often after a burn-out, a dismissal or a relational break-up. These people are often seeking both a professional activity giving a new meaning to their life and a community environment, even if it means some income sacrifices.
Role: these people are often ready to consider a longer-term commitment, which makes them good candidates for management and leadership positions.
See employment centers, rehabilitation programs, personal growth groups, mutual aid groups, etc.

Former assistants
A target group no to be disregarded, those who already stayed in L’Arche as assistants and that, contacted during a career reorientation, make knowingly the choice to re-engage in L’Arche will often bring a quality of implication that people simply looking for a job often lack.
Role: community leader, direction
How: maintaining regular contact with former assistants

Adults in rehabilitation or social and professional inclusion programs
Adults that are made vulnerable by a handicap, a disease, a depression, a long period of professional inactivity, etc.
Role: quite surprisingly, these people often have a great natural “compatibility” with the intellectually disabled and can bring an important extra assistance (sometimes long-term) as long as they are autonomous and don’t require assistance themselves. Most or the time they work as volunteers but receive an allocation from their rehabilitation program.
See local and provincial agencies and programs.

Adults looking for a job that’s compatible with their professional area of competence.
Role: usually a transitional extra assitance, while waiting for a better-paid job opportunity that would be more related to their area of education.
See employment centers.

Volunteers of all ages
Groups that are already committed in the social and community field.
Role: support in daily chores, personalized accompaniment, role in board of directors, workshops and day programs.
See parishes, local associations, volunteer recruiting centers, etc.

Retired
Role: support in daily chores, personalized accompaniment, role in board of directors, workshops and day programs, as well as complementary roles; communications coordinators, representation and public relations.
See retired people associations and parishes.

   QUESTIONS

1. Indicate the priority of the target groups you are already seeking

1 Volunteers
2 Young people who are doing a practicum for a college, university or pre-
professional degree or certification
3 Young people who are local
4 Young people from other countries or other regions
5 Adults who are in re-orientation of their life and/or career
6 Ethnic groups, landed immigrants and new immigrants
7 Young people looking for a job
8 Adults looking for a job
9 Teenager (secondary school level)

0 Retired adults
0 Adults who are in a reintegration program or a social or professional inclusion
program

2. ave you identified other target groups? 

Friends/family members of present/past assistants, Recent Graduate from PSW programs who are local, Youth groups in churches, bilingual Canadians, Religious Communities, people interested by community life and have some experience already 

3. Since the founding of your community, have you noticed an evolution in the identification of target groups? 

We can see the value of recruiting adults who are 25 and older and are trying to find ways to reach that group. The groups have become younger. We now consider more young adults just out of high school who are looking for a “gap” year of experience. Yes, I noticed less people know what L’Arche is and who Jean Vanier is. We are using more Job banks, job fairs, less target groups with religious affiliations more secular. We try to attract people who are local without good results then we are looking for young’s people from other countries. People older that are in re-orientation of their life is an interesting group but it is difficult to target them. It is really important to make her self more known because it is the best way we will be able to attract this group of people. (With an article in a magazine, etc) 

4.Has this evolution brought new challenges for the management of internal human resources if we take into consideration the level of continuity, integration and the cohesion of teams? 
  
Younger assistants come with less team building skills and lower sense of responsibility. They need more hand-holding with daily housekeeping tasks like cooking, driving, cleaning.”
“The age variety brings both gifts and challenges. Assistants who are welcomed that are over the age of 45 have brought the most challenges for us.”
“The individuals who come with a sense of mission find it difficult to live with others who are here primarily for a job. Over the years people have many more opportunities in life or after schooling, young people don’t have a sense of home/commitment. We are not targeting individuals who are closer to core members’ ages so therefore there is a generation gap on the teams.”
“Yes, as assistants that we welcomed from overseas are not always well prepared or adequate and we have little ways to better select those candidates from other countries despite the references and certain verifications we can never be sure, it is like rolling the dices. The qualifications are also really different from one candidate to another.”