Kingsriver is a Life-Sharing Community which provides residential and day-care in the form of training, therapy and meaningful work for people with different abilities. Our intention, as a Life-Sharing Community is to create a home rather than an institution. We aim to provide a living and working environment that is conducive to a feeling of well-being, physical and emotional security, stability and belonging. The focus is on people’s abilities rather than their disabilities. The aim is that people are enabled to be included in society as much as possible through building self-esteem and self-reliance. Kingsriver Community assesses and provides the supports and training people need to lead fulfilled lives, so that they can reach their potential and be included in society as much as they want to be.The Kingsriver Community Project aims to promote inclusion and equality of people with different abilities on a local, national and international level. It does so by raising awareness amongst young people from different backgrounds and cultures, through its daily programmes, activities and life experiences.The objectives of our Project are:To host a mixed group of up to 5 volunteers from different countries, experiences and backgrounds for a period of 12 months living in a life-sharing community;To engage in different day-to-day activities, programmes and training; these include woodwork, gardening, cooking, health programmes, arts & crafts etc.,To actively participate in the local community;To support people with special needs in their daily activities;To support volunteers with professionally trained and experienced staff.Kingsriver Community's objectives are:To advocate for inclusion of people with special needs in society,To link with other organizations in the EU that work with marginalized groups,To promote a different way of working with people with different abilities in a life-sharing environment,To break down barriers and stereotypes around people with disabilities,To develop an understanding and raise awareness of different programmes and projects in the EU.Our target group learn to actively participate in Kingsriver Community, their local and wider community. For example, two years ago some of our people with special needs participated in a short term EVS to Slovakia and it was a great success. Volunteers from many different countries help to widen horizons through their interaction on a daily basis. The project helps both volunteers and our people to understand that the word "inclusion" applies to many different kinds of disadvantaged groups in society. By understanding this both volunteers and people with disabilities learn to empathise and put their own lives into prospective. This in turn promotes inclusion and equality. Volunteers support and enhance activities that give our target group more opportunities to become independent and to be better included in society. This happens through our weekly programmes, dialogue, teamwork, activities such as art and craft projects, sport programs, gardening, etc.Tolerance, acceptance, empathy and openness to people being different are the main features that volunteers will encounter.Not only do volunteers enrich the lives of our people with disabilities, but they in turn learn a lot of practical and organisational skills and teamwork. Most importantly the volunteers learn a lot about themselves and leave the project enriched and more confident and this stands to them for the rest of their lives.For many past volunteers Kingsriver has been a life changing experience. Many of our volunteers have gone on to practice in social care work and have applied the skills that they learned during their EVS experience with us. One of our current project coordinators was an EVS volunteer to Kingsriver in 2002. As a result of her EVS year she went on to achieve an Honours Degree in Applied Social Studies in Social care and now has 15 years experience working with young people and people with disabilities. One of our ex-volunteers from Armenia currently volunteers in her Sending Organization with people with special needs. Another ex-volunteer now works with children and toddlers with special needs and their families in her home country of Germany. These are just a few examples of the results and long-term benefits our project has had. Our long-term cooperation with some Sending Organizations in particular, allows us a real exchange of learning, skills and practices. By actively participating in the local community and the wider national debate, we strongly advocate for inclusion and equality for people with disability in Ireland.