Reform Ride for Refugees: The Backstory
In the summer of 2016, two friends who lived in Kitsap County (WA) were following the plight of Syrian refugees. They discussed how they could support their refugee neighbors. As triathletes who biked frequently and Lutherans who were aware that 2017 marked the...
Osbaldo Hernandez’s journey to citizenship
Hundreds of Spanish-speaking residents in Snohomish County pass through the doors of our Familias Unidas center in Everett each year. Some seek food, housing, health care and other basic needs. Others are looking for jobs, English language classes, citizenship classes...
Providing Foster Care for Unaccompanied Children
We have been providing foster care for unaccompanied children and youth in need of safety and support here in the United States for more than 30 years. LCS Northwest has two programs that provide these services: Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) in Spokane and...
Holy Anger!
“no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark” - Warsan Shire There is a time for holy anger. That time is now. I am asking you to be angry with me, and I want you to turn your anger into action. Attorney General Jeff Sessions quoted the Bible as...
McGaughy Finishes Long Career of Kindness and Compassion
A long career of helping a whole lot of people recently came to a close for Denny McGaughy. On March 15, McGaughy retired after more than 27 years of leadership at LCS Northwest. Most of that time was spent heading up our Spokane efforts, and that job included stints...
Lori Titus earns Caregiver of the Year in Tacoma
Caregiving is in Lori Titus’ DNA. When Titus, a Tacoma resident, was in high school, her father, Robert Olsen, was a caregiver to her grandmother. Titus would help with her grandmother’s care by keeping her company while her dad ran errands, or she would sit with her...
Port Angeles: What a difference a year makes
With 29 years of serving Olympic Peninsula communities, LCS Northwest was on the verge of shutting the doors to our Port Angeles office in autumn 2016. Thanks to an infusion of local support, the office has grown. “We asked local leaders what the impact would be if...
Welcoming Their New Neighbors to Salem
Being neighborly took on a new meaning last year in Salem. People started welcoming refugees to Oregon’s capital city. Salem For Refugees, a volunteer organization launched in 2016, has become a key player in resettling refugees in the community. The group works with...
Believing People and Treating Them with Respect
(Editor’s note: This story deals with sexual assault. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer crisis response advocate for us in Spokane, please contact us at 509-747-8224.) It’s not the right volunteer opportunity for everyone, but being a crisis response...
Familias Unidas helps Spanish speaking families exercise their rights as tenants
A quick check in with her staff revealed to Maria del Rocio Miranda that something was amiss. The seven families who walked into Familias Unidas Latino Family Support Center in Everett on a Tuesday morning in June were all facing rent increases prior to the end of...
Jane Paulson: Leveling playing field for foster kids
The year was 1990, and it was pivotal in Jane Paulson’s life. After spending a decade working as a social worker, she was ready for a career change. Jane applied to be a legal assistant for a small family law office in Burien. As she sat in their reception area...
Mahoney Leaves Legacy of Care
After 28 years of working in our home care program around the Tacoma area, Linda Mahoney called it a career on the last day of August. It’s the people who attracted her to caregiving. “I love the clients because each and every one of them has a story to tell,” Linda...
Introducing Refugees Northwest
LCS Northwest is pleased to announce that, as of July 1, all of our refugee and asylum services managed through our North Puget Sound office are now under one banner: Refugees Northwest. The name and logo was formally launched at our Taste of the World fundraiser in...