Anna Waltar, Program Assistant at LCS Northwest, No Phone Number Available
Monday, June 10, 2019 at 4:03 p.m.
June is World Refugee Month, and here at Lutheran Community Services Northwest, we are excited to celebrate and stand in solidarity with our refugee clients and neighbors! Across our Spokane agency, all three of our teams work closely with refugees to help them thrive in our community: our Clinical team offers counseling and support groups for refugees as they seek healing from past trauma, our Advocacy team stands alongside refugees who are victims of crime and sexual assault, and our Child Welfare team works to resettle Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) with local foster families.
Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Foster Care
As one of the newest programs here at our Spokane office, our URM foster care team has already made a significant impact in only a few short years. Since launching the program in 2016, our team has resettled 30 refugee minors from 8 different countries with foster homes here in Spokane.
Through the services we offer, youth who have been separated from their families by violence and persecution now have the chance to live in a safe and stable community with access to medical care, mental health services, and education. For some of our clients, their first day of school here in Spokane is the first time they’ve ever set foot in a classroom. These youth are remarkably resilient though, and it’s an honor for our team to walk alongside them and watch their progress over the years. In just a few weeks, we’ll be hosting a catered dinner for our foster families to celebrate our newest group of high school graduates! We are so proud of them.
World Refugee Day
Of course, we at LCS Northwest aren’t the only ones in town who love welcoming and celebrating our refugee neighbors and friends. On Saturday, June 15, a whole team of local agencies is coming together to put on Spokane’s annual World Refugee Day Celebration! Join us at Nevada Park from 11a.m. – 3 p.m. to enjoy live performances, a potluck of food from around the world, a marketplace of handmade artisan goods, and a naturalization ceremony for refugees who are becoming citizens! The theme for this year’s celebration is “Honoring Refugee Women,” so keep an eye out for a fashion show with women modeling traditional clothing and an awards ceremony for refugee women who have become leaders in our community.
And make sure to stop by our LCS Northwest booth on the day of the event to meet some of our staff and to learn more about how you can help bring health, justice, and hope to refugees!
Get Involved with LCS Northwest
Want to join us in serving and supporting refugees? Here are some great ways for you to get involved:
