Longtime LCSNW leader Heike Lake is named agency President
LCSNW has opened an exciting new chapter in Executive Team leadership. Effective immediately, Heike Lake is adding the role of agency President to her Chief Operations Officer (COO) duties. David Duea is no longer serving as President but will remain agency Chief...
Gift program for isolated seniors now serves three states; Santa’s workshop grows
This past holiday season, the LCSNW Santa for Seniors team expanded into 17 counties throughout the Pacific Northwest and started our national expansion with Minnesota partners. The team delivered more than 8,800 holiday gifts in Washington, 650 in Oregon, and 1,000...
Portland team helps refugee families navigate school systems
An LCSNW refugee program that doesn’t get a lot of attention yet makes a big difference for newly arrived families is the Oregon Refugee Children’s Assistance Services, known as ORCAS for short.
National awards given to LCSNW artists living with dementia
Read more about it in the news media: Tacoma News Tribune story; Tacoma Weekly story. Congratulations to five amazing artists who participate in our Opening Minds Through Art (OMA) program in the Tacoma area -- a creative outlet for people living with dementia or...
Family, Tribal ties make our LCSNW team stronger in Klamath Falls
Native American heritage means a lot to Elizabeth Jackson and Kya Adams-Jackson. The mother and daughter recently offered a glimpse into their family’s rich Tribal history, a welcome opportunity to learn about this culture as LCSNW observes Native American Heritage...
‘A better life is possible:’ Everett staff help family of 6 out of homelessness
LCSNW’s three regional Community Resource Centers are warm, welcoming places that help low-income individuals and families get on their feet when they are struggling to meet life’s basic needs. At CRCs in Everett, SeaTac and Port Angeles, they can find help with...
Giving voice to immigrants’ stories
We recently produced a series of three videos that explore the immigrant experience by sharing the stories of three of our clients. The videos, released as part of National Immigrants Day on October 28, are about Ismael, Isabel, and Mostafa. Each individual sought...
Portland church engages neighbors in donation drive
Portland’s Prince of Peace Lutheran Church recently held a donation drive and collected nearly 200 brown paper grocery bags full of mostly new items for LCSNW to distribute to local refugee families. These types of donations are critical because newly arrived refugee...
Two Vancouver churches provide space for growing LCSNW programs
Our Multicultural Community Services (MCS) staff has expanded into two Vancouver area churches that have office space to spare. One church is Lutheran, the other is not, and LCS Northwest is grateful to both. MCS Director Peter Vogelaar said he and others at Lutheran...
Two more artists join LCSNW refugee art show in Beaverton
Ghulam Ali Danish Kamal, who goes by Danish, is a longtime artist who fled Afghanistan in October 2021. Danish, his wife Marzia, their three sons and his parents arrived in Washington state the following May and became clients of Lutheran Community Services Northwest....
Caring for kiddos: A Family Place expands to Newberg, third site in Yamhill County
A familiar polka dot bus drives around Newberg, the gateway to Oregon's Willamette Valley, picking up children as young as 18 months and delivering them to an exciting new place. This isn't just any place. It's A Family Place, a relief nursery that opened this fall in...
Mother and son opened their Vancouver home to refugees; you can do the same
LCSNW is seeking temporary host homes for refugees. For more information about Vancouver placements, contact Khalid Barzgar, [email protected] or 360-787-4737. For the Portland area, contact Fiona Evans, [email protected] or 503-731-9590. For the Puget Sound area, go...
Disability lost its grip, and she found LCSNW ‘dream job’ in Portland area
Every LCSNW team member has a job-search story filled with unique challenges. Catherine Hill, a recently hired Mental Health Clinician, completed a long journey in which she faced the adversity of being legally blind. But the route was made smoother by Catherine’s...