Eye on LSSI A look at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois · 2015-05-21 · Fall 2006 • Eye on...

Eye on LSSIA look at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

FALL 2006

Managing Editor andPhotographerJo Ann Dollard

Art Director Pam Maremont

Contributing WritersBeth Demes, Jo Ann Dollard,

Geoff Ritter, Dan Schwick andCarol VanderMey

Lutheran Social Services ofIllinois is the statewide socialservice agency of the Illinois

synods of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America.

Frederick Aigner, Pastor President

M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N TResponding to the Gospel,

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

brings healing, justice and wholeness

to people and communities.

V I S I O N S T A T E M E N TLutheran Social Services of Illinois,

as one agency with many expressions,

will create community by graciously

serving as both the employer and

provider of choice.

ON THE COVER…LSSI’s Intact Family Servicesprogram in southern Illinois workedwith Brittany and Iasiah’s family intheir home to help them stabilizetheir situation. One year after beingreferred to the program, the familyhas found a new equilibrium.

Photo credit: Amanda Whitlock

An agency ofthe United Way

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois does notdiscriminate in admission to programs oremployment in compliance with the law.

• • • •

• • • •

www.LSSI.org

Eye on LSSIFall 2006 • Volume 20, Number 3

2Faithful ServantsLSSI’s veteran employees bring a variety of rich resourcesto the agency — including a dedication to LSSI clients anda sense of institutional history.

10Compañeros Contigos

A unique counseling program gives Latinos living in northcentral Illinois a safe place to share concerns, cope with

depression and gain support from others.

14The Journey through Trauma and Loss: A Refugee’s StoryA Vietnamese refugee finds a connection with other people inrecovery at LSSI’s Intensive Outpatient Group in Chicago.

22Barnabas MinistersVolunteers provide a listening ear and friendship to“special people” — the residents at P.A. Peterson Center forHealth in Rockford.

From My Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Advocacy Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Big Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Our People, Our Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

18Keeping Their Family Togther

In the midst of turmoil, one southern Illinois familyfinds help through Intact Family Services. The program

works with families in their homes, keeping children outof the child welfare system.

Fall 2006 • Eye on LSSI • • • 1

This issue of Eye onLSSI is dedicated,in part, to ouragency’s long-termemployees, people

who have worked for LutheranSocial Services of Illinois (LSSI)for 20 or more years. Theseemployees comprise about 3 percent of the 2,100 peoplewho work here.

Whatever their role at LSSI— whether these veteran employees are Head Start staff,home care assistants or administrators — these peoplebring an essential depth of knowledge, commitment,experience and stability to our organization. They areservants, pillars, stewards of institutional wisdom.

There are many references in scripture about the role ofservants and servant leaders who carry out God’s work,much as Christ took the form of a servant (Phillipians 2:7).These individuals not only serve our clients and theircolleagues and co-workers, they contribute to the well-being of the larger community through their faithful work.

In this day and age of multiple careers with multiplecompanies or organizations, paired with news every day ofmergers, acquisitions and downsizings, it is refreshing tosee employees who stay with an agency like ours — whoselongevity is so notable! — for the long haul. That capacityfor steadfastness may be the single most importantcharacteristic we can know about anyone.

I believe that veteran employees — like the 10 we haveprofiled beginning on the next page — are, quite simply,where our knowledge is. I wish we had room to profile theunique contributions of all of our long-term employees, butthese individuals will give you a sense of the caliber of peoplewho choose to work at our agency. We place a high value onthe stability brought to our mission by these individuals.

In healthy, living cultures, people rely on their elders toprovide them with a sense of history so that they can knowhow to engage the issues that confront them in ways that arewiser, sounder, more sure-footed. We simply do stand on theshoulders of those who have gone before. Those of careerlongevity among us who have evolved along with our agencyover a significant period of time know how this thing calledsocial ministry works — what are its strengths,vulnerabilities, complexities. What works, what doesn’t work.

Being an employee of longevity at LSSI is like being in along-term relationship or marriage. These individualsexperience the inevitable cycles that are part of

organizational life, the good times and the bad. Peoplewho have been with the agency a long time have seen itgrow and contract, and have known periods of turmoil andstability and everything in between. They understand thespecial, discrete challenges of serving a faith-based,mission-driven charitable organization.

Whether employees work in direct service, like FrankJeffers, who works with people in acute crisis throughProject IMPACT; oversee a program, like Sue Will, whosupervises our Maternity Services program; or if theyprovide supportive or administrative services, like DixieDownes, who manages the Office of the President and ismy executive administrative assistant, keeping thisagency’s and its many subsidiaries’ day-to-day affairs inorder — these employees have borne witness to theeveryday struggles and joys of what it means to servepeople in this unique environment.

Our struggles often involve inconsistent or inadequatestate funding for our programs, or frustration and burn-outbecause often the work is hard, the pay is low and clientscan’t always get better or have great difficulty making thechanges necessary to improve their lives. Often, there’s toomuch work and too few workers to do it. But the joys ofworking at a place like LSSI are great — helping people findwholeness in their lives — whether it’s physical, emotional,spiritual or relational. Or providing support services to directcare staff who carry out that noble calling. Or obtainingfunding to develop new programs that help people in verytangible ways — as illustrated by Lynn Goffinet, who justretired after 28 years of service with our agency, and wasresponsible for developing a variety of adoption programsand participating in the development of significant childwelfare legislation in Illinois.

Veteran employees remember the faces and stories ofpeople whom they’ve served, not to mention those whomthey’ve served with at the agency. It’s this long-termunderstanding that enables them to do unique things thatno one else can. They’ve been seasoned with experiencethat you can’t get at a conference or in a classroom orbook. You only get that experience from doing it. They’rethe ones who have the ability to bring the past into thepresent so we can improve things going into the future,enabling us to continue bringing healing, justice andwholeness to people and communities.

from my perspective

Frederick Aigner, PastorPresident, LSSI

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2 • • • Eye on LSSI • Fall 2006

Debra Ellis: “I love to work with children, and I know that HeadStart works.”

Debra Ellis is a “pitch-in person,” says Evone Evans,director of Englewood MessiahHead Start, an LSSI program thatserves approximately 54 childrenand their families in this largelyneglected neighborhood onChicago’s southwest side. For 27years, Debra has worked at thesite, but her history with theprogram goes back further. InMarch 1979, she enrolled her sonLes there and became a “HeadStart mom.” On May 21, 1979, she

became the site’s secretary and in 2002, the social serviceworker. Along the way, she obtained her bachelor’s degree inbusiness.

“It’s a very challenging and rewarding position,” says thesoftspoken Debra, who is also a foster parent. “I do awhole lot of things.” She enrolls students in the program,serves as the parent involvement coordinator, handlesparent conferences and refers children and their familiesto community resources.

“The biggest thing about Debra is she’s very

compassionate and cares very much about the families,” saysEvone, explaining that over the years, she has worked withchildren and later, the children of those children. Debra hasseen generations of families as well as the larger communityhelped by this early childhood education program.

Karen Sanders has one of those families. “I go all the wayback with Messiah,” she says, explaining that in 1980, sheenrolled the first of three sons at the Head Start site. Sincethen, four nieces, four nephews, three great-nieces and onegreat-nephew have been students at Messiah. Just thisAugust, Karen enrolled her granddaughter there.

But the children from her family haven’t been the onlybeneficiaries of the program’s and Debra’s influence.Karen, who works as a social worker at a private humanservices agency, says, “With [Debra’s] encouragement, I gotan associate’s degree and later, a bachelor’s degree.”

“I love to work with children, and I know that HeadStart works,” Debra says. “The proof is in my son; look athow he turned out.” Les, now 30, graduated last year witha master’s degree in science from the University of Illinoisat Champaign-Urbana.

“When I brought him here, it was the beginning of hiseducation … it was a springboard,” Debra explains.

The program, she adds, “not only gives a kid a headstart, it brings the family into the whole scenario — we’rehere to work with the child and the family.”

“I’m here to help in any capacity,” says Debra. “That’s mypayment.”

Tim Eckert:“They’re like your second family.”

Tim Eckert, who strikes one as an “even keel” guy, sayshe can almost work with anybody. “I try and adjust mythinking according to who I’m working with,” he explains,of his work with the elderly and disabled clients at IntouchAdult Day Services in Moline.

“The thing that’s served me best is patience and a senseof humor — that’s gotten me through all these years. Youneed a lot of patience.”

Toni Hunter, program director at Intouch, says Timdefinitely possesses this key virtue. “He has the patience ofa saint. Tim is very kind and respectful to the participantsin the unit.”

Faithful Servantspproximately 2,100 employees work at

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

(LSSI). About 3 percent of those

employees have worked at the

agency 20 or more years. A few

of these individuals, who bring a variety of

resources to the agency — including a long-term

dedication to serving the agency’s clients and a

sense of institutional history — are profiled here.

A


Tim, a bus driver and activities staff, says he neverplanned to work at the program so long. “I had no idea I’dbe here this long. I feel comfortable here.” A father of twoand a soccer coach, Tim majored in business and worked ata factory and nursing home prior to coming to Intouch.

The largest adult day facility in Illinois, Intouch hasserved the Quad Cities area for 25 years, providingapproximately 200 participants every week with a safe andenjoyable place to be during the day. Tim has beenthrough several moves with Intouch, beginning at TrinityLutheran Church in Moline, where it was first located, toits newest location, a 10,000-square-foot site in Moline. Healso remembers when Intouch only needed two buses topick up participants. The fleet has since grown to 14.

Tim, a “people person,” likes working with older adults.“They’ve been through a lot in their lives, and there’s a lotof stories they can tell you. [Intouch] is a way of repayingthem for what they’ve done,” he explains. “[We should]treat them with respect and reverence.”

On his morning route, Tim picks up about 10 “folks,” ashe affectionately calls them. He estimates his route takesabout 45–60 minutes to complete. After hanging up his buskeys in the staff lounge, he begins the day’s activities withpeople in “The Living Room,” a special unit forparticipants with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., “I’m back to driving themhome. Between those two things, I keep pretty busy,” heexplains.

Tim believes in Intouch. “It’s the staff. They make folksfeel welcome. [The participants], in turn, make new folks

feel welcome. We provide a good service here … weprovide a lot of respite,” he says, explaining that Intouchprevents people from prematurely going to live at nursinghomes and for some people, just gets them out of the houseto socialize. “A lot of times, the only time they can get out iswhen they come here,” he says.

“When you drive, pick them up, drive them home atnight, you feel connected, you feel empathy for them,” Timreflects. “When they pass on, a part of you goes with them.They’re like your second family.”

Carrie Carr: “I’ve stayed with it because I felt like I’m contributing.”

“I feel like I’m contributing in my own way — mylifestyle and character as a role model,” says Carrie Carr— also known as “Miss Carrie” — who’s worked on theunits at Nachusa Lutheran Home, a residential treatmentprogram for adolescents, since 1984. “I’ve stayed with itbecause I felt like I’m contributing.”

Nachusa, the historic LSSI program founded in 1904, hasevolved over the years to provide a wide variety of services

for children and their families,including the Alternatives toDetainment program where Carrieworks now.

The program offers 24-hourresidential treatment for teensexperiencing emotional andbehavioral problems at home andin the community. Alternatives toDetainment is a place to help themget back on track so they canavoid incarceration and future

tangles with the law. The treatment program includestherapy, groups and other activities to help the kids and theirfamilies deal with their problems.

“It’s to prepare them to go into society — [as aproductive member of society],” Carrie explains.

Right now, she works the overnight shift on the 12-bedunit, from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Carrie admits it’s a hardtime to work. It’s her job to make sure the clients are safeand secure and that their needs are met. “Being an olderstaff, I’m kind of like a mother figure,” she notes.

L O N G - T E R M L S S I E M P L O Y E E S R E F L E C T O N T H E I R W O R K


Plainspoken and humble when she describes herselfand her role on the unit, Carrie says, “I am not this perfecthuman being. I’ve made mistakes … Even though I workas a staff, I still have faults …” she says, adding, “I also letthem know I have a strong belief in God … I hope theycan see that in me.”

“Miss Carrie is just an outstanding person and shows upevery day for the kids,” says Greg Duffey, supervisor on theAlternatives to Detainment unit. “What’s unique about her isher ability to look at the kids and know what their needs are.She knows when to show empathy and when to set limits.”

Before coming to Nachusa, Carrie worked for a stateprogram, caring for developmentally disabled children.Working [at Nachusa] has been a learning experience,Carrie says. “In a lot of areas I grew, as well as trying tohelp [the kids]. I learned from them also.

“I just hope that I can make an impact,” she says. “I hopethat in the long term they will learn how to trust.

“I built some relationships over the years,” she notes.“There are still some clients that call me.

“I have a passion for abused kids and [the] elderly,”Carrie says. “I get real emotional when it comes to theirwelfare. It ain’t about me.”

Jacqui Lind:What is most important is “making them feel valuable asa person…”

“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse,” says Jacqui Lind, anLPN who works on the Garden Hills unit at P.A. PetersonCenter for Health, in Rockford.

In the ’70s, Jacqui Lind’s work in the medical fieldunofficially began as a candy striper at Swedish AmericanHospital in Rockford. “I’ve always enjoyed working with theelderly,” says Jacqui, who began her career at P.A. Petersonas a CNA (certified nursing assistant) in 1984.

Peggy Holt, administrator at P.A. says, “[Jacqui] truly caresdeeply for our residents and their families, and is a real teamplayer. She has a wonderful, bubbly personality and

brightens a room when she walksinto it. Everyone loves Jacqui!”

Of working at “P.A.” for allthese years, “I think it’s a benefit.You’re able to see changes overthe long term,” says Jacqui. “Icame to P.A. at a neat time … Wealways had a longevity in ouradministration, which I think isimportant.”

Jacqui explains that over the

years, the residents have changed, as has the continuum ofservices at P.A., which now offers Alzheimer’s andrehabilitation services, among many others. When she firstjoined the staff in 1984, there was only one skilled nursingfloor, and P.A. was more of a retirement home.

But one important thing hasn’t changed. “In the 22 yearsI’ve been here, they’ve never seem to focus away from what’simportant — the residents.”

And that is Jacqui’s focus. When she works her shift, sheactively connects with the residents. As she’s passing outmeds, she talks with residents about Cub games, theirgrandkids and whatever other topics are on their mind.

“A good share of them follow sporting events,” notesJacqui, herself a diehard Chicago Bear fan. “You just try andget involved in their world and what they’re interested in,”she says.

For the elderly in long-term care, Jacqui says what ismost important is “making them feel valuable as a person— no matter what their limitations or deficits are, whetherthey’re physical or mental — making them feel valued andtaken care of.”

Jacqui often sees residents progress through differentlevels of care, becoming familiar with them and theirfamilies. “They know you — you’re not a stranger to them,”she notes. She has known one resident for 15 years, who hadoriginally lived in one of the apartments there and now liveson the skilled care unit.

When her mother was living at P.A. Peterson for a timeuntil her death last year, she says her own brother developedan appreciation for her work. “He said, ‘How do you do this,Jacqui?’” she remembers.

The nature of working in nursing care involves somesadness and loss, Jacqui acknowledges. Losing patientsafter caring for them for an extended period of time, ordealing with a difficult case, can be painful. When workgets her down, she’s sure to take a breather and make extratime for biking and fishing, two of her favorite recreationalactivities. “You’ve got to schedule time off,” she says.

“I’m one of the old timers,” she laughs. “I just hope theyhave a room for me [some day].”

Diana Rainey:“I just like helping the elderly. I love it.”

“If you want to get it done, she’s that person,” says SadieShines, program coordinator at LSSI’s Salem House IntouchServices, of Diana Rainey. “She’s a person I would want tostep behind me.” Sadie extols Diana’s productivity andskills as a manager, along with her compassion.

Diana has been with Salem House 20 years this fall, which

provides home care services to more than 300 low-incomeseniors in Chatham, Englewood, Morgan Park, Beverly, HydePark and other neighborhoods on Chicago’s southwest side.The largest Community Care Program in the state, SalemHouse is funded by the Illinois Department on Aging (IDOA).

Diana started out as a home care assistant, helping olderadults with a variety of needs maintain their lives and homesin the community, by assisting with tasks such as mealpreparation, housework and transportation.

Since 1996, Diana has supervised 55 home care assistants —not a small task. Her work includes matching elderly clientswith home care assistants — “I try to look for the best person towork with a client” — and scheduling, often juggling, thosevisits. She addresses clients’ and their family members’

concerns, handles mountains ofpaperwork as required by IDOA andmakes sure her staff get paid on time.Diana admits the job has itschallenges, like those occasionswhen it’s hard to find the right homecare assistant for a particular client.

What motivates her? “I just likehelping the elderly. I love it. …When I worked out in the field as ahome care assistant, I felt like Iwas making a difference,” Diana

says. “You can do little things for them, and they appreciateit.”

Every Christmas, Diana runs a holiday food drive forneighborhood seniors, a huge effort that brings happiness tomany people in the community.

“Even when she has a client who’s ‘giving her fits,’ shestill goes that extra step,” says Sadie. “She’s a compassionateperson.”

“You have to have patience and have to care about whatyou do,” Diana explains. “It’s not an easy job…”

She acknowledges that it is hard to care for an elderlyloved one. “You need all the support you can get,” she says,having recently cared for her aunt for an extended period oftime, “But I just love them [the clients]. Sometimes they justdon’t have anybody else,” she says.

Frank Jeffers:“I wanted to serve, to provide a ministry to people.”

“When you ask what’s keeping me here, I may be one ofthose leftover orphans from the Lutheran Home FindingSociety that didn’t get adopted…”* Frank Jeffers jokes. Frankbegan his work with LSSI 31 years ago, back in September1975 when the agency was known as Lutheran Welfare

Services of Illinois (LWSI). And he’s pleased to boast thatin all these years, he’s only taken one sick day.

Years ago, Frank seriously considered becoming apriest. Instead, he “went into psychology. … I wanted toserve, to provide a ministry to people,” he explains.“When I decided not to pursue a clerical vocation, Idecided to provide counseling services to people.” Hewas also attracted to the idea of working for a religiousorganization like LWSI.

“I’ve often felt that church-based services have alwaysbeen valuable as far as the quality of services provided,”Frank says.

Frank applied for a job at the Byron Street office,evaluating seniors for in-home services or nursing homeplacement, part of an initiative with the ChicagoDepartment on Aging. Shortly thereafter, he began providingmental health services, working with families andindividuals and leading groups. For a time, he was LSSI’sonly mental health case manager, referring clients fromChicago Read, the state mental health facility on thenorthwest side of Chicago, to various mental healthproviders including LSSI’s Byron Street office and FarNorthwest Counseling Center.

In 1993, familiar with the area and local mental healthresources, Frank took a lead role in developing ProjectIMPACT. The program serves individuals and families whofind themselves in an acute crisisinvolving mental illness,substance abuse and/or domesticviolence. The aptly namedprogram’s acronym, IMPACT,stands for ImmediateMultidisciplinary Pre-ScreeningAssessment Team. The programbegan as a pilot project atChicago Read and later moved tothe emergency room at SwedishCovenant Hospital in Chicago.

The first program of its kind in Chicago, ProjectIMPACT enables people — whatever their crisis is — toobtain the appropriate level of care by providing onsiteassessment at Swedish Covenant. The program serves 250people a month and 3,000 people a year, helping peopleaccess the services they need — referrals to appropriatemental health and community services, inpatient andoutpatient care, shelters and detox centers, while reducingovercrowding and rehospitalizations at Chicago Read.

Every day, Frank and the staff at IMPACT see peoplewith a variety of problems and circumstances, includingindividuals in crisis who are brought from O’Hare


*One of LSSI’s earlier child welfare programs located at 4840 W. Byron Street in Chicago. This historic site now houses a variety of LSSI’s mental health programs.


Airport. “It really can be the full gamut,” he explains. “Weliterally get people from all over the world.”

Manoj Patel, Project IMPACT program director, saysFrank works well with everyone — clients, IMPACT staffand emergency room staff alike — noting that hiscounseling, crisis intervention and conflict resolution skillsare “very good.”

“We always need teamwork here to work with theemergency room staff,” Manoj explains. “We have to worktogether. [Frank is] good in coordinating the process.”

Frank acknowledges that working with people in such ahighly charged situation can be very challenging. “At times,it can be very difficult, but you have to look at a biggerpicture to get you through the small, painful one.”

Dixie Downes:“[LSSI] is still doing good for people. I feel good about that.”

If there is one person at LSSI who has her finger on thepulse of the agency — both its present and its past — it isDixie Downes. For 31 years, she has served as the executiveadministrative assistant in the Office of the President,serving four different presidents over the years, includingcurrent CEO, the Rev. Dr. Frederick Aigner, and earlier, theRev. John Petersen (1975–1976), Reuben Jessop(1976–1980) and the Rev. Donald Hallberg (1980–1996).

John, who hired Downes in 1975 when he was serving asacting president, says, “I had the opportunity to participate inthe hiring of a lot of people over the years. Dixie is the mostsuccessful hire I had anything to do with.”

“She is a very intelligent person and has the ability to movewith the emotions of other people,” he continues. “She movedeasily between Petersen, Jessop, Hallberg and Aigner, whichis due to her ability to feel how other people are feeling.”

Dixie manages the Office of the President — aformidable task at an agency with a $100 million budgetand 190 programs at 89 locations. Dixie also maintains thecorporate records for LSSI’s 21 subsidiary corporations,including two market-rate retirement communities andnumerous HUD-financed residential facilities for limited-income seniors and/or individuals with disabilities. Two ofthe subsidiaries serve as conduits in the purchase, sale,mortgage, acquisition and leasing of real estate and otherassets for the agency’s many program sites.

A large focus of Dixie’s work is as liaison to LSSI’s Boardof Directors. “I do the tasks that are necessary to set upboard meetings, handle follow-up needs and make thepaperwork flow,” she explains.

Dixie can put her finger on any file or crucial piece ofinformation about the agency in a few seconds when

asked. It is an understatement tosay her organizational skills,along with her filing system, areimpressive. “A lot of informationis here in this office, and, ofcourse, some of it is in mymemory,” she says.

“When I came to work forLSSI, it was a much smalleragency — 700 plus employeesand one person doing payroll andbenefits manually,” she says.

When she started, the agency’s budget was only $7.4million.

“There have been cycles,” she acknowledges, describingtimes when the State of Illinois would ask LSSI to take onnew service contracts, to, for example, serve people withdevelopmental disabilities and addictions with newprogramming, as well as the lean, painful times, whencherished programs were eliminated to preserve the wholeof the agency.

Over the years, through all the ups and downs she’switnessed, one thing has kept her going.

“The overall picture is that our program people are outthere doing good for people,” she states simply. “[LSSI] isstill doing good for people. I feel good about that.”

About her commitment to LSSI, “I have a bias,” Dixieadmits. “I’m a Lutheran. I support the agency. I supportedLutheran Brotherhood [now Thrivent] for 15 years as avolunteer. I steer the women’s organization at church. Iwas able to help both groups become more aware of LSSIand, in so doing, generate some modest financialcontributions to specific programs. I just feel I have avested interest.”

Besides her exposure to LSSI services via her work,Dixie has also experienced LSSI’s services firsthand. Threeyears ago, she spent 10 days recovering from hipreplacement surgery on the rehabilitation unit at St.Matthew Center for Health in Park Ridge, an LSSI program.

“I saw this really caring, compassionate care …” she says. She has also witnessed the breadth and depth of the

agency’s work time and again, at board meetings aroundthe state where clients spoke about services they’dreceived or where site visits were made to variousprograms, not to mention the many occasions when clientscalled to say how happy they were with the services theyreceived, like the adoptive mother and birthmother whorecently called to praise the LSSI caseworker who workedwith both of them to place the birthmother’s child.

“It’s been a very interesting and enriching job for me,”


Dixie says. Besides learning about LSSI’s programs throughher work with the board, she’s enjoyed “so much exposureto people in other areas of business” including opportunitiesto meet heads of other agencies, senators, representativesand even a former Illinois governor.

“If you were to make a profile of desirable competenciesand skill sets, Dixie fits the profile,” says her current boss,Pr. Frederick Aigner. “She never drops the ball, she has agreat eye for detail — I mean [she] never drops the ball.I’m just glad she’s stuck with it this long.”

It should also be noted that Dixie knows shorthand, arare but exquisitely useful skill. “I still use it every singleday,” she says, smiling.

Nancy Lenz:“I love that I have known so many people in the agencyfor so long.”

Nancy Lenz, director of LSSI’s church-based counselingcenters in the west and northwest suburbs, came to herchosen field somewhat unconventionally.

“I was going through a divorce — a major life change,”she explains. Married for about 25 years, she had been “ahappy housewife with three sons,” living in Connecticutand later, the Chicago area. “I needed to get a career,” sheexplains. “My divorce opened the door for me to have asecond life.”

While working on her master’s in counseling psychology,Nancy did an internship with LSSI in 1982–83 at itsDowners Grove counseling office, located at Gloria DeiLutheran Church.

Brenda Wanner, then head of LSSI’s suburban counselingprograms, “took me under her wing and dragged me tomeetings with pastors as part of my internship,” she recalls.

Led by Pr. Phil Ramsey (a former LSSI board member), asmall group of pastors had actually started LSSI’s suburbancounseling services, beginning with a divorce supportgroup held at Gloria Dei in the late ’70s. In 1983, Nancy

became an official LSSI employee,working five hours a week andearning $50.

“We had a monthly consultationwith pastors to discusscongregational and memberproblems from a clinical point ofview,” Nancy notes. “…it was theway I got to know pastors [in theWest Suburban Conference of theMetro Chicago Synod] from DayOne.”

Over the years, Nancy has supervised the therapists whostaff the counseling centers, along with many graduateinterns. In 2005 alone, 300 clients were served through theVilla Park office and seven satellite sites.

Nancy has also had a strong presence in the community,providing a variety of interesting presentations to churchesand organizations on topics including “The DifferencesBetween Men and Women,” “The Effects of Alcoholism onthe Family” and, for women trying to balance careers andmotherhood, “The Total New Woman: Having It ALL.” Shealso participates in meetings of the Lombard-Villa ParkClergy, where she serves as “a face” for the counselingprogram.

Nancy is also well known for the divorce support groupshe’s been running every year since 1982, which “providesa framework for recovery and hope for the future” forpeople going through this major life crisis.

She says, “One of the things I like about doing thedivorce group, is that in eight weeks, you can see a shift inattitude [in group participants]. Instead of feeling hopelessand wounded, they have a shift in perspective, a renewal ofoptimism and have defined some goals for the future.”

Nancy finds satisfaction in her clients’ motivation tomake changes in their lives. “Therapy is about makingpositive changes,” she explains. She sees 10–15 clients aweek and particularly enjoys working with couples, whotypically bring a lot of energy to their sessions.

“As a pastor, I always need a place to refer parishioners,knowing that they will be served well,” says Pr. StephenSwanson, of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Villa Park. Thecongregation hosts the “flagship” counseling center in itsparsonage. “It’s wonderful to have that service right here.It’s a good ministry.”

“The client and staff satisfaction surveys from the VillaPark office are consistently high. That says a lot, doesn’tit?” adds Roger Boekenhauer, executive director of LSSI’sBehavioral Health Services. “One ingredient is Nancy’sleadership and her example. She’s a good listener andresponds to people so nicely,” he adds, recalling one internwho said that Nancy was her role model.

Nancy enjoys the autonomy of working out of the VillaPark counseling center along with her relationships withstaff throughout the rest of the agency. Sadly, for theagency and her clients, Nancy will be retiring in December.

“I love that I have known so many people in the agencyfor so long,” she says, mentioning Roger, who is hersupervisor, along with others. “That’s one of the things Itotally love about my job.”

“We love working with Nancy,” says Swanson. “We’ll missworking with her. She’s been part of the community.”


Sue Will:“The clients I work with are wonderful people. It makesworking like not working.”

For the past 32 years, Sue Will has dedicated herself tohelping birthparents make the best decision for their children.

In 1974, Sue left a job in Aurora with the IllinoisDepartment of Children and Family Services, wanting towork for a private agency instead. She came to Peoria towork for LSSI’s adoption program.

She doesn’t even remember the title she had when shefirst started with the agency. “I think I invented the jobdescription,” she jokes.

From the beginning, Sue spentmuch of her time doing birthparentcounseling, working withbirthparents who were in crisisabout whether to parent or placetheir child for adoption. In the ’70s,a home for unwed mothers inPeoria kept a steady stream ofclients moving in Sue’s direction.From the get-go, she was sofocused on maternity counselingthat she didn’t have much time left

to work on adoptive family home studies, another focus ofher job. Eventually, she got so busy that the agency had tohire someone else to handle that responsibility.

“It was such a small office,” she recalls. “We kind of dida lot.”

Heidi Colton, a senior supervisor, has worked with Sue foreight years in various capacities and considers her a mentor.Heidi says, “Sue has always been willing to sit and chat awhile,spend time processing aspects of unusual cases — which ispretty much every case — providing wisdom and insight,support and even commiserating with me on a rough day.”

“During my time working with Maternity Services,” Heidicontinues, “I have observed Sue’s passion for birthmothers,infants and their rights; her ability to connect with clientsthrough empathy and humor; her willingness to dropeverything when someone says, ‘I’m having a baby!’ —whether it be today, tomorrow or next week.”

Sue and her staff of five maternity workers scatteredaround the state are “on call 24/7 and actually enjoy it,” shesays. Birthmothers find out about LSSI’s free servicesmostly through the Yellow Pages, along with referrals fromchurches and hospitals.

“Some of them call when they’re three months along,”Sue explains, “and some of them call when it’s threeminutes after delivery.”

“The client decides what we focus on. Most birthparentswho come [to LSSI] are coming because they’ve alreadydecided,” Sue says. “Most are coming to explore adoption.

“You go with whatever’s most urgent for them,” shecontinues. “If they need housing, we look at that. We dowhat we need to do to prepare them to parent or make anadoption plan.”

She loves her clients — “Birthparents are wonderful”— but hates the paperwork. “You spend an hour with aclient and three hours with paperwork,” she laments.

Over the years, the biggest change Sue has seen in herwork is that adoption has become a much more openprocess. It used to be that a birthmother signed away herchild and never saw him or her again.

“Things got more and more open,” she says. Today,“Birthparents select families and meet those families, if theychoose to do that. That’s kind of the evolution of adoption.”

Last year, Sue and her staff worked with approximately90 birthparents, providing them with a variety of services.“If they’re planning to parent, we hook them up towhatever community resources they need.”

Why has she stayed with it so long? “I just really thinkit’s because I like what I’m doing — if I hadn’t, I wouldhave looked elsewhere,” Sue says.

Lynn Goffinet:“. . . what has been most gratifying for me has been theopportunity to impact the lives of children and families.”

Lynn Goffinet just retired after 28 years of service withthe agency, most recently having served as an associateexecutive director of LSSI’s Children’s Community Servicesnetwork. Lynn had administrative responsibility for all ofthe agency’s children’s programs in central Illinois andcoordinated non-DCFS (Department of Children andFamily Services) adoptions statewide.

“Lynn is a true advocate for children who believes thatthere is a family for every child,” says John Schnier,executive director of Children’s Community Services.“Through her many years of service, she has, in some way,touched the lives of thousands of adopted children.”

Lynn, a native of Peoria, reflects, “… what has beenmost gratifying for me has been the opportunity to impactthe lives of children and families.”

Lynn began her career at LSSI in 1978 after four years ofworking for DCFS followed by several years raising hertwo sons.

She became involved with LSSI by joining a humanservices advocacy group after hearing a presentation at herchurch made by the Rev. Don Hallberg, then LSSI’s director


of governmental relations who later became LSSI’spresident. Lynn also knew Dorothy Johnson,* who at thattime oversaw the agency’s programs in Peoria. The twoserved on the church council together.

“I asked Dorothy if there were any openings at LSSI, andthe rest is history,” Lynn remembers.

Her first position at the agency was two-fold: adoptionworker and director of public relations at the Peoria office.“I had been the volunteer public relations chairperson forthe Morton Pumpkin Festival one year and had some mediaknowledge,” she recalls with a laugh, noting that theexperience probably helped her get the job.

While her initial emphasis was in the adoption area,Lynn’s work expanded to cover the breadth of child welfareservices, which included foster care, specialized children’scounseling services, intact family services and single parentprograms.

She remembers her early years with LSSI being a timewhen improved practices in adoption were being developed,as well as support emerging from both the state and federalgovernments for the adoptive placement of children withspecial needs. Many of these children had entered the childwelfare system as a result of abuse and/or neglect.

“That brings me to why LSSI and why all these years,”she says. “From the beginning, I felt a real commitment onthe part of the agency’s leadership and staff to provide thebest possible services to children and families.

“… we were allowed to develop programming thatwould meet the emerging needs of the children and familieswe served,” she continues, explaining that LSSI enabled theadoption and maternity staff to take a comprehensiveapproach in preparing families to adopt infants, in addition

to developing specific protocols for families adoptingchildren with special needs. The agency also encouragedLynn to write grants for new programs, including therecruitment of families to adopt sibling groups and childrenwith developmental disabilities.

LSSI’s Adoption Preservation program, designed tosupport and strengthen families formed through adoptionand subsidized guardianship, was also developed by Lynnand other LSSI adoption staff. Over the years, this programhas grown to serve 25 counties, the largest program of itskind in the state. Lynn secured the grant for this programand has also been responsible for the development of abroad range of LSSI’s post-adoption services.

Lynn’s efforts on behalf of special needs adoptions —for children with medical or behavioral problems —culminated in her receiving the 2004 “Angels in Adoption”award, presented by the Congressional Coalition onAdoption Institute. U.S. Senator Richard Durbin nominatedLynn for the award.

Lynn’s work on the agency’s special needs adoptionprogram led to her leadership in statewide committees,including work with DCFS, the Illinois Child CareAssociation and other private agencies and child welfareassociations. She was involved in the development of policyand sound practice in special needs adoption, drafting of thepioneering Illinois permanency legislation, andenhancement of post-adoption services. She participated inthe writing and passage of the Illinois adoption registry andconfidential intermediary legislation.

During her long career, Lynn has seen an increasedemphasis on the reunification of children with their birthfamilies — something she has strongly championed — aswell as sizeable growth in international adoptions and anincrease in the number of single adoptive or foster parents.

“All in all, the thing I’m proudest of are the wonderfulpeople that took this journey with me to serve children andfamilies,” she says, referring to her colleagues in the field ofchild welfare. “In many ways, the staff kept me at LSSI.They are dedicated, open to teaching and learning, andstrive to provide highest quality services.”

For the immediate future, Lynn plans on taking sometime off to do some traveling and spend more time with hersons and five grandchildren.

“But it probably won’t surprise people if they see me inSpringfield [again],” she laughs, to continue her role ofadvocating for Illinois children and families. “We’ve madetremendous strides in offering services to children andfamilies — services that recognize new needs, such assubstance abuse and how it affects families. But we still havesome challenges in meeting children’s needs [in our state].”

*Dorothy Johnson passed away in September 2006.

In parts of north central Illinois, Spanish-speakingimmigrants have found help in the form of CompañerosContigo (“Partners with You”), a part of the GeneralCounseling program offered by Lutheran Social Servicesof Illinois (LSSI) since September 2004. Served by LSSI’sSterling office, Compañeros Contigo provides bilingualcounseling services for individuals, couples and familiesin Dixon and Mendota, and Whiteside County. TheWhiteside County United Way has given CompañerosContigo special funding to help low-income, Spanish-speaking clients pay for counseling services.

“LSSI took a big risk [in starting the program],” saysDiana Hammer Tscheschlok, LSSI clinician in Sterling-Rock Falls who works with Compañeros Contigo. “But itis a way for LSSI to reach out and make its mission ofbringing healing, justice and wholeness to all people andcommunities come true. That is impressive.”

Sharing concerns, gaining support from othersIn its first year, Compañeros Contigo served 21

Spanish-speaking and two English-speaking Hispanicclients. In addition to providing counseling, the programrecently offered two short-term groups for Hispanicwomen to educate them about various mental health

magine that you have moved to a new country, away from the land of your birth. You haveleft friends and most of your family behind. You were looking for a better life for yourselfand your family. You don’t speak the language except for a few words. And now, becauseof an abusive situation at home, you are seeking a divorce. Or maybe, your children are

getting into trouble at school. What do you do? Where can you turn for help?That’s the situation facing some immigrants who have come to the United States to seek a

job, a new home, a better life. But coming to a new country, one that has an unfamiliar culture,is not easy. And when problems arise in family life, language and cultural differences can act asseemingly insurmountable barriers to obtaining help.


northern illinois

Finding Support in Your Own LanguageCompañeros Contigo

ICompañeros Contigo


issues, including depression.Focusing on depression is important. Tscheschlok

says that studies indicate that Hispanics are more likelyto suffer from depression than the general U.S.population but are less likely to receive treatment due toa lack of insurance and a dearth of bilingual andbicultural mental health providers. “Immigrant womenare particularly vulnerable because they have left theirhomes, culture, family and friends behind,” she says.

According to some experts, depression is a “whole-body” illness, involving an individual physically, mentallyand emotionally. People with depression cannot just“pull themselves together” and get better. However, it isa treatable illness, one that can be helped throughmedication and counseling.

“So many of [the women] are facing the samechallenges, but they don’t know that,” adds Tscheschlok.“And they are scared and embarrassed about sharingtheir situations.” The group gives them a way to shareand learn from each other.

Tscheschlok says that in the group, she works tonormalize the women’s feelings of depression and guidethem toward actions they can take to begin to feelbetter. She says that the group helps the womenunderstand that they are not alone, that they aren’t theonly ones who have depression.

“I learned that just like me there are other women thathave the same problems and sadness that I do. [I learned]that it is good to speak with other people in a group andbe able to have trust in them,” says one woman whoattended a five-week support group this past summer.

“[I like] that you can speak with confidence,” addsanother group member. “You can have a moment to saywhat you feel and think. [I like] that there isconfidentiality with your companions in the group.”

The group is also a way for the women to see whatcounseling is like, since it is unlikely that they have had

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previous experiences with it,Tscheschlok says. She adds thatsometimes, after the meeting is over, awoman will ask to talk with herseparately. “It is great that we arebuilding this kind of trust in thecommunity,” Tscheschlok says, andanticipates more group opportunitieswill be made available in the future.

Compañeros ‘a godsend’“[Compañeros Contigo] has been a

godsend to the community,” saysTheresa Hooper, adult educator andprogram assistant for the WhitesideCounty Regional Office of Education’sFamily Literacy Program. “Until thisprogram started, we didn’t have abilingual counselor in this area,” sheadds. “I feel so good telling familiesthat [Compañeros Contigo] is here.”

Hooper notes that previously heragency had paid for counseling sessionsfor several women through CompañerosContigo as a way to help provide neededmental health services. The agency paidfor up to four sessions for each woman.Now that Compañeros Contigo offerscounseling services, “It has really madean impact [on the women],” she says.“To have someone here [to talk with]who speaks their own language isinvaluable. I can’t say how much it hasmeant to the families we serve, whichare the neediest of the needy.”

The women in Compañeros Contigoparticipate in Hooper’s educationalclasses, which offer a family literacyprogram for immigrants. “We finishedour spring ESL programming the endof May,” Hooper explains. “Diana wasa guest at one of our classes andtalked about the possibility of asupport group.” Most of the women inthe classes took Tscheschlok up onthe invitation to the support group,which also offered transportation andchild care for them.

Since her agency does home visitsduring July, Hooper said that heragency collaborated to provide spacefor the support group. The meetingsended July 26, but a survey of

participants indicated that they wouldbe interested in coming to anothergroup. Some of the participants evensuggested that the group be offeredmore than once a week and last longer.

“I really liked the meetings eachweek,” one woman says, “because thetopics that we had were like findingsupport in our lives.”

Health empowermentIn addition to providing counseling,

LSSI’s Sterling office also collaborateswith the Whiteside County HealthDepartment and the Illinois Departmentof Public Health (IDPH) to educateHispanic women on the importance ofscreening for cervical and breast cancer.

“We talk about why [screening] isimportant to them and their families,”Tscheschlok says, “and we try tobreak down the myths about cancer.In the Mexican population, there is a[feeling of] fatalism about cancer. Weexplain how women can take controlof their health and fight cancer.”

Through an IDPH grant, theWhiteside County Health Departmentprovides screenings. Tscheschlokestimates that they have educatedabout 145 women and 38 men throughthe project this year, and that ninewomen have taken advantage of theprogram to have screenings performed.

“The screenings and health programsare another good way [for LSSI] topartner with other agencies and reachout to the community,” Tscheschloksays. “It’s been great that we canprovide free and low-cost screeningsthrough the grant,” she says, addingthat cervical cancer seems to occurmore in Hispanic populations than inwhite ones. “Uninsured, low-incomewomen have more serious cases ofthese cancers primarily because theydon’t have as much access toeducation, screenings and earlytreatment,” she says. “We’re working tochange that in our community.”

For more information onCompañeros Contigo, call LSSI’sSterling office at 815/626-7333, ext. 324.

In the past several months, there has beenmuch discussion — along with rallies andother activities — about U.S. immigrationlaws and how to handle current and futureundocumented workers. From the media, onemight assume that much of Illinois’ Hispanicpopulation is concentrated in Chicago andother large cities in the state. But recentstudies indicate that about 59 percent ofIllinois’ immigrant population lives outside ofthe Chicago area.

The growth of that population has beensubstantial. Between 1990 and 2000,Chicago’s immigrant population increased by34 percent. During that same time period,the rest of the state saw an 87 percentincrease in immigrants, says Diana HammerTscheschlok, LSSI clinician in Sterling-RockFalls. “So, immigrant issues are no longertopics just for the city,” she notes.

“Because of the Compañeros Contigoprogram, a big need was identified, and weresponded,” says Jennifer DeLeon, associatedirector of the office of Church andGovernment Relations of LSSI. She notes thatas questions about immigration and otherissues concerning the Latino community arose,other social services agencies would come toLSSI, looking for help.“We found ourselves aleader in immigration issues,” she adds.

As a result, LSSI has become the hubfor working with Latinos in the Sterling-RockFalls area, according to DeLeon, and servesas a resource. Last year, LSSI formed theSterling-Rock Falls Immigration Task Forceto help educate the community and getinvolved in immigration issues as theyaffected Latino clients.

The task force started out with a groupof about 20 people from schools, healthfacilities, banks, LSSI and other socialservices agencies. By the end of April 2006,there were more than 100 peopleparticipating in the group.

For more information, contact JenniferDeLeon at 847/390-1428; or go online towww.LutheranAdvocacy.org.

LSSI Takes a LeadershipRole in Immigration Issues

At a recent meeting of a taskforce in my homecongregation, my pastoroffered the opening prayer,

asking God that in the midst of ourdeliberations about a verycontroversial subject we be given thegrace to be pastoral, prophetic,courageous and faithful.

Justice advocacy is oftencontroversial in the church. Manychurch members do not see anyconnection between community, faithand the ways we participate indecision-making. Many of us see“separation of church and state” as animpermeable barrier that keeps peopleon one side or the other. We often failto follow Martin Luther’s practice of

seeing ourselves as at the same timepart of the church and the state, withoverlapping responsibilities topromote the common good.

On the other hand, some veryenthusiastic advocates sometimesforget that we are part of a blessedcommunity called and gathered by theHoly Spirit. Creating alienation anddivisions within the Body of Christrarely contributes to the advancementof God’s mission to bring healing intoour broken world.

And so we look for public policyissues around which we as a churchhave developed significant consensus.

The time- and labor- intensive processby which the Evangelical LutheranChurch in America (ELCA) developsand eventually adopts social policystatements is an outstanding exampleof that effort. Our church body iscurrently in the midst of developing asocial statement on education that weexpect will be ready for considerationby the ELCA Churchwide Assembly inChicago next summer.

If you have not yet seen the firstdraft of the social statement and/or ifyou’d like information on an ELCA–sponsored hearing on the proposedstatement, please log ontowww.elca.org/advocacy.

In all of our justice advocacy workin the church, whether it be on the

international, national, state or locallevel, we are challenged to be pastoral,prophetic, courageous and faithful.

Being pastoral means, I think, payingclose attention to the needs — physical,emotional and spiritual — of all people.We cannot bludgeon people intosupporting a position that seems almostself-evident to us. We must be willing toinvest the time to build relationships ofmutual trust from which growth canemerge — growth in others as well asgrowth in ourselves.

Being prophetic means speaking thetruth to power and especially callingfor justice for those on the margins of

society, those whom the biblicaltradition so often calls the widows, theorphans and the strangers. The OldTestament prophets often stood on thefringe of their own society and madethe claim that society, not they or theGod for whom they spoke, had movedaway from God’s will for a just andcompassionate society.

Being courageous means, literally,acting from the heart (couer). It meanstaking risks for what one believes atthe very center of one’s being. Wemust always strive to act from ourcore values as Christians. CoreChristian values affirm the dignity ofevery man, woman and child as abeloved child of God. Core Christianvalues embrace the richness of thediversity of God’s good creation, God’spassionate commitment to redeem andrestore the whole creation.

Being faithful means that we respondto our baptismal call to be disciples ofJesus and to participate in God’scontinuing acts of redemption andrestoration of God’s beloved world. Wesay “Yes!” to God’s call to align ourselveswith God’s work, the “care andredemption of all that [God] has made.”

As we at LSSI move forward in ourmission (“Responding to the Gospel,Lutheran Social Services of Illinoisbrings healing, justice and wholenessto people and communities”), as wecontinue to work with our partners inthe three ELCA synods in Illinois andthrough LutheranAdvocacy.org, as weas individual Christians live out ourbaptismal vocations, may we alwaysbe pastoral, prophetic, courageous andfaithful!

For more information, contactPastor Daniel Schwick, director ofLutheranAdvocacy.org at 847/390-1418, or at [email protected];or visit LutheranAdvocacy.org.

advocacy agenda

Pastoral, Prophetic, Courageous and Faithful

Being pastoral means paying close attention to the needs —physical, emotional and spiritual — of all people. Beingprophetic means speaking the truth to power and especiallycalling for justice for those on the margins of society. Beingcourageous means, literally, acting from the heart(couer). Being faithful means we say “Yes!” to God’s call toalign ourselves with God’s work, the “care and redemption ofall that [God] has made.”



inh Thai loved working at the Fannie Maecandy factory in Chicago. It offered him

decent pay and good benefits. But life changedwhen the company closed the factory in 2004

because of financial problems. Vinh lost his job.He had no support network, spoke little English

and had a two-year-old son who depended on him.For the six months that he received federal

unemployment compensation, his finances were OK.After that, Vinh relied on his dwindling savings and the

odd and infrequent day laborer work he could get. His brother, who also livedin Chicago, was recently unemployed himself and was unable to help, as he wastrying to support a wife and three children and lived in a tiny apartment.

Months dragged on, and the money ran out. Vinh was unable to find permanentwork. He felt that he had failed on a promise to his father, who had sent him on aharrowing journey to America some 15 years earlier to find a better life. The twobeers that had become routine after work grew into a chronic all-day palliativenow that he was unemployed.

One day in September 2005, however, no amount of alcohol could ease thepain. Vinh’s son, Johnny, was at day care. More than a year had passed sinceVinh had lost his job, and he was feeling deeply depressed and anxious. Thoughhis English was limited, he could communicate well enough to call 911 and say,“Please take care of my son. I’m going to jump.”

metro chicago

T H E J O UR N E Y T H R O U G H T R A UM A A N D L O S S :

A Refugee’s Story

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A cry for helpThe Chicago police arrived in time,

and Vinh did not jump. But his call forhelp, which probably saved his life,also complicated his situation. SeeingVinh’s emotional state, the policecalled the Illinois Department ofChildren and Family Services (DCFS),who in turn broughtin Lutheran SocialServices of Illinois(LSSI), as well as aVietnamese womannamed Chau, who hasbecome Vinh’sinterpreter andlifeline. DCFS alsotook Johnny away andput him in foster care,a move that Vinhfeared was permanentbecause he did notunderstand thesystem. Johnny’smother is estrangedfrom the family. LSSI,through its DCFS-funded Male FamilyReunificationInitiative program(MFRI), has beenworking with Vinh tohelp him decipher theDCFS maze and meetits requirements to gethis son back. MFRI,which is offered atLSSI’s EdgewaterOutpatient Programon Devon Avenue in Chicago, providescounseling and case managementservices to recovering alcoholics andsubstance abusers to help thembecome better fathers and providers.

As a refugee, Vinh was an anomalyin the program. The language barrierand cultural differences presented

initial challenges to Renell Jordan-Tieri,Vinh’s LSSI caseworker, and othersinvolved in his treatment. Many menare reluctant to share their feelings incounseling, but Vinh’s hesitation randeeper. He was extremely frightenedand mistrustful.

Part of his treatment included

group therapy in LSSI’s IntensiveOutpatient Group (IOP), led by RoseDahn, LCSW. Vinh watched andlistened, with Chau interpreting, as theother clients in the group describedtheir own experiences with alcoholand drugs. The other participantswere friendly to him, and because of

their openness, he graduallydeveloped a sense of belonging andtrust.

“This social aspect of sharing thegood and the bad experiences of oneanother in group became a powerfultool for Vinh in learning to trustagain,” says Dahn.

Vinh eventuallyopened up. And thelife story he toldthrough Chau was“one that you only seeon television,” saysJordan-Tieri. Vinhwas diagnosed withpost-traumatic stressand anxiety disorders.

Boat people,refugee camps

With Chauinterpreting for him,Vinh, 39, shares hisstory. A slight, soft-

spoken man, hereveals hisnervousness with atwitching knee.

On April 28, 1990,23-year-old Vinh fledVietnam with his twoyounger brothers,Tuan and Toan, ages

17 and 13, on a small boat with 38other people. He and the others werepart of the last wave of the Vietnameseexodus that began after the war endedin the 1970s. Vinh’s father hadinstructed him to take care of hisyounger brothers and help them makea better life in the United States. Being

The connection Vinh has found with others has proven essential to both his recovery and psychological healing.

Vinh with Rennell Jordan-Tieri, his LSSI caseworker. The trauma Vinh experienced in hislife is “one that you only see on television,” she says. “There is just something aboutVinh. …You just want to help him.”

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of their backgrounds. But he remainedhopeful that someday he would besent to the United States.

Those hopes were dashed in 1996when the U.N. ended its Vietnameserefugee program and closed the Galangcamp. Vinh and his brothers were sentback to Vietnam.

Then two years later, Vinh and oneof his brothers miraculously wereallowed to leave Vietnam and relocatein the United States under refugeestatus. Vinh thinks that it was becausehe had lied to Galang camp officialsand told them that his father lived inthe United States. His one brother wasallowed to leave because his wife’sfather actually does live here, whilethe third brother had no tie to theUnited States.

American dream?First, Vinh lost his job, then his son.

Life seems to have gone from bad toworse. But with the LSSI team’s help,

Vinh has made progress and is “stillgoing, still fighting,” as Jordan-Tierisays. He has stopped drinking and sayshe feels less depressed and much morecomfortable. He completed the IOPand has been attending AlcoholicsAnonymous meetings. He is keeping upwith DCFS’s requirements of individualcounseling and attending classes onparenting and on domestic violence.

“He came here to address substanceabuse, but he found a connection tothe world — he learned how to talk toothers,” says Dawn Trushke, directorof Edgewater Outpatient. “The agencywas able to fulfill [needs in] so manyparts of his life.”

Dahn explains, “The connection hehas found with others has provenessential to both his recovery andpsychological healing.”

His most fervent desire today is tohave Johnny, now four, returned tohim. The judgment as to whether heis capable of caring for his son restssolely with DCFS. This means, in part,that Vinh must find a job. He has solidexperience as a butcher, a cook and afactory worker, but not being able tospeak English is a significant barrierin his finding work. He wants to takeEnglish classes, but lacks the moneyto pay for them. And he wants tosearch for employment during theday, but attending the variouscounseling sessions and classes hasimpeded him.

The DCFS system was not designedaround the special needs ofimmigrants, and Jordan-Tieri hasadvocated and challenged the rules onVinh’s behalf when necessary. She has

also helped ward off an eviction fromhis apartment, securing a rentalsubsidy for him, and has found himhealth care services through theHeartland Alliance.

“I will always be grateful to Renellfor supporting me and helping withmy housing,” says Vinh. “She is alwaysthere when I need her.”

As for Jordan-Tieri, she is resolutein reuniting Vinh and Johnny. “Thereis something about Vinh. I don’t knowwhat it is. You just want to help him.”

For information on the EdgewaterOutpatient Program and the MaleFamily Reunification Initiative, call773/764-4350.

in a small boat among large ships wasterrifying for Vinh. The group spentfour days at sea before reachinginternational waters and being rescuedby a ship.

The ship took them to an unknownisland near Indonesia, where theywere left for three days and strippedof all their belongings and money byIndonesian soldiers. From there theywere taken to another Indonesianisland, called Jemaja, to a temporaryrefugee-screening camp called Kuku.The 18 days at Kuku is still vivid inVinh’s memory. He and his brothers,who were only given a one-half can ofmilk, two cans of water and one canof rice each, had to forage for food inthe nearby forest. They alsowitnessed atrocities: Indonesiansoldiers repeatedly raping femalerefugees and torturing the men withsuch techniques as burying them inhot sand up to their necks andholding them under water.

After Kuku, they were transferredto Pulau Galang Island, Indonesia, to aU.N.-run refugee camp where theywere to be processed for resettlement.At Galang, Vinh says, he did not seerefugees tortured like they were atKuku, but food was still scarce. Hismonthly rations consisted of 10 cansof rice, one-half can of concentratedmilk, one-half can of beans, one-halfcan of soybeans, three cans ofsardines and one bottle of oil.

Vinh and his brothers lived in theGalang camp for six years, waiting tobe processed. He says one had to bepatient, because there were a lot ofrefugees and it took time to check all

s has proven essential to both his recovery and psychological healing.


central/southern

TheAbbott* family lives quietly in a trailer on a sleepy street in one of the sleepiest places in southern Illinois.

When you visit their home, there are no screaming televisions, no barking dogs, no wailing toddlers — just a calm sense

of order. That, and seven children, who one might expect to be a bit more rambunctious. But they aren’t.

Keeping Their FamilyTogether

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* Name changed to protect confidentiality.


In fact, sitting with Arthur andJennifer in their living room, one wouldhardly know that seven childrenbetween the ages of 3 and 14 —Brittany, Artaya, McKayla, Jada, Tatnia,Jenazai and Iasiah — are busy playinggames, passing around toys andlooking forward to having their favoritetreat, Popsicles®. There are almost notoys in the living room. Outside, only acouple of hard-worn bikes proppedagainst the deck indicate theirpresence. All in all, the children arewell behaved. One would expect morepandemonium in a family this large.

“You get to see yourself again,”Arthur says, reflecting on the joy thathis children, two boys and five girls,bring him. “Every time you look yourbaby in the face, you cry because yousee yourself. It makes my bodytremble when I see them cry.”

Life has not always been this way inthe Abbott home. Last November, afteralmost 10 years of marriage, Arthur wasarrested after he hit Jennifer in the faceduring a dispute about money. Hedisappeared for two weeks, visitingfriends and hitching rides with truckers,but when he returned, he pleaded guiltyto the assault in court and wassentenced to 12 months of probation.

Suddenly, the delicate tapestryholding life together for the Abbottsbegan to unravel. The Department ofChildren and Family Services (DCFS)got involved. Caseworkers wanted toknow everything. Things hit theirlowest point.

DCFS sent the case to LutheranSocial Services of Illinois (LSSI),however, which found a way to helpthe Abbotts through its Intact FamilyServices program. Created in 2002 to

succeed a similar program, IntactFamily Services works with familiessuch as the Abbotts within theirhomes, striving to avoid placingchildren in foster care. Now, going onone year later, the family hasdeveloped a new equilibrium.

“It’s my family, man,” Arthur says.“If I be rich or poor, I ain’t gonna bailout of this.”

Deep poverty, drugs significantfactors

“We were just struggling,” Jennifersays of the months leading up to thatevening last year. “Money was hard.We didn’t know what we would do.”

This scenario is all too common forfamilies like the Abbotts that come tothe attention of DCFS and are referredto LSSI. Shortly before Arthur wasarrested, the Abbotts lived in a

dilapidated, four-bedroomhome, most of which had noheating or air conditioning.Jennifer was unemployed;Arthur had just been firedfrom a janitorial job. It wasmuch like the years before,which had seen Arthur makerepeated visits to court for notkeeping his car paid up andJennifer arrested and pleadingguilty for stealing clothingfrom a local store.

Three-quarters of the familiesserved by LSSI have incomesthat float around $12,000 a year.Often, that’s where theproblems begin. Unfortunately,alcohol is a common factor, and

so is drug abuse. In 2001, LSSI had onemethamphetamine-related case in itssouthern Illinois foster care program;four years later, meth-related casesaccounted for 40 percent of the agency’scaseload in the region. At the sametime, the number of Illinois childrenreported to DCFS has been on a steady

Their FamilyTogether

In the midst of turmoil, one family finds helpwith Intact Family Services


rise, but last year saw the biggest jumpin a decade.

Into this bleak picture comes IntactFamily Services, which receives itscase assignments from DCFS. Whenfoster care is avoidable — and almostany caseworker prefers to keepchildren out of the child welfaresystem if possible — Intact Familyseeks to work with the family withinthe home helping them developsolutions that will help get them backon track.

Linda Reiss, who oversees theprogram at three locations in southernIllinois (Marion, Harrisburg andVienna), says that seven caseworkershandle about a dozen families each,adding up to over 100 families peryear. For the most part, the program issuccessful at keeping familiestogether, she says, becauseparticipants are motivated to makechanges — these are parents whowant help and who do not want tolose their children. Weekly visits forthe first 45 days of the program aremandatory, and the program typicallygoes on for about 12 months. Afterthat time, most families have foundtheir way out of the crises thatbrought them to the attention ofDCFS.

Kim Davis is the LSSI caseworkerwho worked with the Abbotts. As

Nobody thinks about what it takes to raise achild. It takes more than money. It takes love.It takes patience. It takes mercy. It takes a lot.

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expected, money was the major issuein their household, she says, and acombination of employmentdiscussions and anger managementcounseling for Arthur proved the bestmethod in helping the family. Theircase is now closed.

“He’s pretty much in control of thesituation now,” Davis said. “They’vemaintained, and he’s followingthrough. Now, [Arthur] leaves homeand goes for a walk when he gets mad.We had a plan, and Arthur wasinvolved in [developing] the plan.”

Life: difficult, but blessedAt the beginning of next year, Intact

Family will absorb the services offeredby LSSI’s Family First program, amethod almost identical in goals butwithout as much of the regular,objective-based interaction offered byIntact Family. This new way of doingthings, Reiss, says, has proved muchmore effective in the long term andhas kept many families living underthe same roofs.

“The majority of them [cases] aresuccessfully closed,” Reiss says. “It

really helps families identify theirproblems, and it prevents thosechildren from entering the system.Most parents really love and wanttheir children, but they don’t alwaysknow what to do with them.”

For the Abbotts, life is far fromperfect, but it continues to moveforward. Their trailer home is smallfor such a large family. When it comestime to travel, they rely on a dentedPlymouth minivan that certainlyshows its age. But much of life islooking brighter. Last February,Jennifer secured a job at a local hotel,and Arthur, still unemployed,continues to search for work. OnSundays, they go to church. When hefeels angry, Arthur goes for a walk. Onalmost any evening, there arePopsicles® for everyone.

More than anything, the experiencehas renewed Arthur’s faith both in hisfamily and in God. He says he feelscalmer now, and finds comfort andhappiness with his wife and children.Some days are still difficult, he says,but he has come to appreciate thingsin new ways and adore his daughtersand “two little princes” all over again.While life’s troubles continue, he hasfound all of this to be a blessing.

“We need to start thinking asparents about what our kids need, notwhat they want,” Arthur says. “Theydidn’t ask to come here. Nobodythinks about what it takes to raise achild. It takes more than money. Ittakes love. It takes patience. It takesmercy. It takes a lot.”

For information on Intact Family,contact 815/997-9196. Note: IntactFamily Services is also offered inChicago; contact 773/763-4720(north office) or 773/372-2727(south office).

Intact Family Services staff work with familieslike the Abbotts in their own homes, keeping kidsout of the child welfare system and resolvingproblems so that families can stay together.


“[The Barnabas Ministry] is such agreat opportunity to make adifference in people’s lives,” saysRockford resident Jim Baker. “A lot of[programs] that you can get involvedin may have age limitations orphysical restrictions. The BarnabasMinistry is open to anyone.”

The Barnabas Ministry, developedby the Rev. Dr. Charles “Chuck”Olson, chaplain at P.A. PetersonCenter for Health in Rockford, aprogram of Lutheran Social Servicesof Illinois (LSSI), provides a listeningear and friendship to those facingloneliness, health problems and otherdifficulties related to aging.

Olson gives two reasons why hestarted “Barnabas.” “First, I realized thatone pastor couldn’t meet all thecaregiving needs,” he says, “and second,I had a ‘heart longing’ to minister withpeople rather than to people.”

Volunteers who complete a six-week training and commit to visitingone “special person” per month canbecome commissioned Barnabas

ministers. There are three levels ofBarnabas ministers: board of directors;shepherds, who keep in touch andwork with six or seven ministers —functioning as their support person;and the ministers themselves.

The Barnabas Ministry is “one moreway to have a practical impact onsomeone else,” says Karen Holmes,program coordinator. She took theBarnabas training three years ago,when she was doing visitation work

Barnabas Ministers: A Heart Connection

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Don Northrup, a Barnabas minister, takes hisspecial person, Roy Stone, for a walk around P. A. Peterson’s grounds. Participating in theBarnabas Ministry “… just felt like somethingthat would be a worthwhile thing to do,” he says.


with another organization. Becauseshe was already involved in visitation,she became a shepherd. In May 2006,she stepped into the brand-new roleas coordinator.

“The ministry had grown enough thatit needed someone to handle theadministrative work, especially sincePastor’s goal is to have at least oneminister for every resident at P.A.Peterson who would like one,” she says.

While the program has about 157commissioned ministers, the numberof people actively involved at this timeat P.A. Peterson is around 60. Another15 are needed to reach Pr. Olson’s goal.

Ann Honer, Rockford resident,learned about the Barnabas Ministrythrough her church. “It seemed likesomething I would like to do,” she says.

Ann, who also serves as associatedirector of the ministry, wascommissioned in March 2003 and visitsthree residents — two women and oneman. Basically, she says, she listensand talks with her special people.“Sometimes they want to talk about

things that they don’t want to — orcan’t — talk to family members about,”she notes. “They want someone theyare comfortable [with] to talk to.”

“[The Barnabas Ministry] is veryrewarding,” she adds. “I feel as thoughI get as much out of it as they do. Itjust makes you feel good.”

For Jim Baker, the BarnabasMinistry answered his desire tobecome involved in ministry. “With fivekids, I couldn’t take the time off to goto seminary,” he says. “The [Barnabasministry] has been a good fit for me.”

Jim currently visits one person at P.A.Peterson, his third “special person”since he joined the group a year ago. He

volunteers

also is involved in the worship servicesin the Alzheimer’s unit.

“I receive much more than I give,”he says. “These people have a story totell, and to be a part of lives — and[have them] confide in us, [makes] mefeel great. The [residents’] stories ofthe past and their friendships arewhat I take [away from being aBarnabas minister]. They give me somuch more back for my time.”

Connie LaFontaine joined theBarnabas Ministry after havingexperienced its outreach firsthand. Hermother was very ill and lived at P.A.Peterson for a time. “A woman invitedme to an Alzheimer’s support group,”she says. “I didn’t realize that she was aBarnabas minister. Her care andsupport touched me so deeply; she wasmy first angel — Barb Manning.”

Then, because “the Barnabas peoplehad been so good to us, I wanted togive something back,” Connie says. Shegot involved, both as a Barnabasminister and as a shepherd. “I wantedto be a shepherd because so many

people have been helpful to me.”Currently, Connie visits three

Alzheimer’s clients and RomonaMeyers, who came to live at P.A. aftersuffering two broken legs. “Thisministry is Christ in action by way ofpeople serving him,” Connie says.

Nate Gustafson, 17, is the youngestBarnabas minister. “My mom [ChristineGustafson] is a director [of theBarnabas Ministry], and [I was] thinkingabout studying social work in college,”he says, adding that she suggested thathe become a Barnabas minister to get ataste of it.

“I do enjoy it,” he says. His special friend is Becky Glenn, a

resident of the third-floor Alzheimer’sunit. “We talk about her kids and hergrandchildren, and she repeats herselfbut I can handle that,” he says.

Don Northrop initially came to P.A.Peterson as a patient, recovering fromknee replacement surgery. He stayedin the rehab unit and noticed thatsome of the residents seemed to bedespondent and didn’t have a lot ofvisitors. After he finished rehab, Dondecided to advantage of the wellnessprogram at P.A. — and to visit peopleafter his workout.

Don’s special person is 99-year-oldRoy Stone, who was actually at therehab facility at the same time he was.“I first met him as another resident atthe dining room table,” he says. “It justfelt like something that would be aworthwhile thing to do,” he says of theBarnabas Ministry. Don also visitssome of the rehab patients.

Lois Foster became a BarnabasMinister in November 2003. “I wasvery drawn to the idea of [visiting]people in later years who didn’t have

anyone in their lives,” she says.Elsa Borchardt, who has Alzheimer’s,

is Lois’s special person. “I feel that weshare some things in common,” shesays, noting that Elsa is very bright,strong, proud and independent.

Lois appreciates Elsa because[Elsa] is “able to focus in on where aperson is and not lament what [she]can’t do [anymore]. She still reads andgoes about her life.

“I love reinforcing her memories.She is really positive, and I appreciatethat about her.”

For more information on theBarnabas Ministry, call Pastor ChuckOlson at 815/399-8832, ext. 4142.

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There are two new exciting developments inLSSI’s senior housing program.

On August 7, Victorian Woods, a new LSSIdevelopment in Decatur, received its certificate ofoccupancy. The building consists of 59 one-bedroomapartments with several different layouts that featurefull kitchens, a visitor entry system, beautiful viewsand other amenities. Victorian Woods, which is fundedthrough the U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD), is located at 3910 W. MainStreet. A dedication of the new development was heldon October 27. For information, call 217/424-0650, ore-mail [email protected].

Joshua Arms, a 242-unit building, has converted56 of its one-bedroom apartments to offer assisted-living services through the Supportive Living Program— funded through the Illinois Department of HealthCare and Family Services — for seniors age 65 yearsor older. Joshua Arms is an affordable CCRC(Continuous Care Retirement Community), whichcombines apartment living for those who do not needsupportive living services, but when/if the need arises,those residents will now be able to stay in thebuilding to obtain the assisting-living services they

The Lutheran Social Services ofIllinois (LSSI) Strength to StrengthCampaign concluded on June 30,2006. The major funding initiativeraised $41.9 million (which includesexpected estate gifts of $3.6million) — funds that have enabledLSSI to serve people in need bybuilding the agency’s currentprograms, expanding theendowment, developing newprograms, improving facilities andincreasing the agency’s donor and

volunteer base. Examples of the campaign’s impactinclude significant enhancements to LSSI’s statewideadoption program thanks to a generous gift from ananonymous donor, new courtyard gardens at St.Matthew Center for Health through a gift from Albert

and Jane Wohlers and the redevelopment of Fox HillGroup Home in Aurora to serve adults with Prader-Willi syndrome.

During the campaign period, LSSI was alsofortunate to receive a HUD (U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Development) Super NOFA(Notification of Funds Availability) grant of $6.6million for the Joshua Arms Supportive Livingconversion, bringing the campaign total to $48.5million. To date, this has been the largest HUD grant ofthis type ever awarded.

“We have been greatly blessed by our donors who,throughout the campaign, have stepped forward timeand time again to help us take care of those we serve,”says the Rev. Dr. Frederick Aigner, LSSI president andCEO. “We thank everyone who supported thecampaign. All of your efforts helped us to end thiscampaign in a real position of strength.”

Strength to Strength Campaign Ends ‘Strong’

Victorian Woods and Joshua Arms to Welcome Residents

Victorian Woods is LSSI’s newest affordable senior housing complex.

require. This supportive living community — whichwill include a 24-hour emergency response system,three meals a day, social services, and many otheramenities — will open later this fall. The supportiveliving conversion project is funded by a $6.6 millionHUD Super NOFA grant (see below). To learn moreabout Joshua Arms, call 815/727-6401 or visitwww.LSSI.org for information on both developments.


On August 17, thePeterson Meadowsretirement community inRockford, a program ofLutheran Social Services ofIllinois (LSSI), held aribbon-cutting ceremony tocelebrate the opening thefirst of its 40 new units.Construction on thebeautifully crafted units —six single and 34 duplexes— began in spring 2005. Formore information, call815/229-0390, or visitwww.PetersonMeadows.org.

New PetersonMeadows Units

Eye on LSSI welcomesletters to the editor from itsreaders. To share yourthoughts, contact the editor,Jo Ann Dollard, [email protected] orwrite her at Lutheran SocialServices of Illinois, 1001 E.Touhy Ave., Ste. 50, DesPlaines, IL 60018.

New Law LetsYou Use YourIRA to Make aDifference

2006 Amicus Certus to Honor Coaches

• • • • • • • • • •

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. It’san ideal time to think about adoption as a way to build afamily and as a way to give a child the most essentialfoundation — a safe and loving home.

Children from many countries await adoptive families.Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), a member of theLutheran Adoption Network (www.lanadopt.org), hashelped build familiesthrough internationaladoption for more than40 years. Families canadopt children frommany areas of the world,including — but notlimited to — Asia,Eastern Europe, andCentral and SouthAmerica.

Families who haveadopted through LSSIhave helped shape theservices the agencyoffers, including a widerange of post-adoption services. In all adoptions, LSSIprepares and supports adoptive families, birth parents andchildren through the adoption process and afterward.

For more information, call LSSI’s Adoption Services toll-free at 1-888-671-0300; or visit www.AdoptionIllinois.org.

November:Adoption Awareness Month

A “thank you” tofoundations and organizations fortheir generous support of LSSIprograms: A.J. Aigner, $40,000;Bethlehem Lutheran Church,$750; Chicago Community Trust,$15,000; Helen BrachFoundation, $10,000; HospitalSisters of St. Francis SanDamiano Outre, $5,000; MolineFoundation, $2,000; NorthernTrust Charitable Trust, $10,000;Peace Lutheran Church, $1,500;Retirement Research Foundation,$50,000;Tom Russell CharitableFoundations, Inc., $5,000;Wal-Mart Foundation, $500; andWheat Ridge Ministries, $5,000.

Men’s head basketball coaches Bruce Weber (left) andHomer Drew of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and Valparaiso University in Indiana, respectively,will be honored at this year’s Amicus Certus (“True Friend”)Award Dinner on October 28 at the Westin Chicago RiverNorth Hotel. Johnny “Red” Kerr will serve as master ofceremonies. Theaward is given toindividuals ororganizations thathave madesignificantcontributions tothe humancommunity. Forinformation, or tomake a reservation, call 847/635-4656 or visit www.LSSI.org.

Your Letters!

Would you like to be able tomake a more substantial gift toLSSI than your income currentlypermits? Well, now you may havea new option, thanks to arevision in the recently enactedPension Protection Act of 2006.The new law says that in 2006and 2007, individuals over age70 1/2 can make charitable giftsof up to $100,000 from theirIRAs and not owe any tax on theamount of the gift.

Another benefit of this IRAcharitable rollover is that theamount of money given may beused by the IRA owner to satisfya portion or all of his or herannual minimum distributionrequirement. For moreinformation, contact Terri Gensin LSSI’s AdvancementDepartment at 847/635-4667 orat [email protected].

Our People, Our StrengthDavid Sharpe has, by his own

admission, always been a “hands-ontype of guy.”

“I was in home building for 25, 30years,” he says, “but I was alwaysinterested in the teaching end of it.”

So, four years ago, when he heardabout the position of constructioninstructor for the Illinois Department ofCorrections School District 428,through a contract with Lake LandCollege at the Taylorville CorrectionalCenter, he applied for it. The mainreason was that the program builthomes for Habitat through the LutheranSocial Services of Illinois (LSSI)Building Homes: Rebuilding Livesprogram. “It’s perfect,” he says aboutthe program. “Everyone is a winner.”

David explains that the 8-1/2-monthprogram at Taylorville is multilevel.For example, one student may be inthe intro level to learn how to usetools. Another inmate may be learningdrafting, while still others are learningcarpentry, plumbing and other skills.“It doesn’t get boring,” he says.

“Inside the fence, there are so many

negatives,” he says. “It’s an honor tobe a part of something positive.”

One of the most rewarding parts ofthe program for inmates is whenHabitat families come to the prison.“It’s an emotional time,” David says,adding that there are tears all around —from homeowners and prisoners alike.

He estimates that about 75 percentof his construction class grew up in a“split” household, many without thebenefit of a male role model. “Some[inmates] were never told ‘thank you’or ‘good job,’ or patted on the back,”

he says. “I think that’s why they canrelate to the recipients [of the Habitathomes]… because they may look at asingle mom and think ‘20 years agothat was my mom.’”

David says his greatest hope is thathe is making a difference in theprisoners’ lives, one that may help toreduce recidivism.

In the meantime, he’s busyworking five days a week, teachingthe inmates as they build interior andexterior wall panels for Habitathomes. “Tomorrow [August 22],”

David says withobvious pride, “westart our 108th Habitathouse. Since March 29,we’ve completed 17houses.”

“Our People, OurStrength” is a series ofprofiles of individualswho help LSSI fulfill itsmission of bringinghealing, justice andwholeness to people andcommunities.

Central Services Office1001 East Touhy AvenueSuite 50Des Plaines, Illinois 60018

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDChicago, IllinoisPermit No. 7162

David Sharpe

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