Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

Responding to the Gospel, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois brings healing, justice and wholeness to people and communities.

As President of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), I am pleased to share with you the accomplishments of the ministry of LSSI over the past year, done on behalf of the three ELCA synods of Illinois. In our work to bring healing, justice, and wholeness to people and communities, we are continually blessed by the support we receive from congregations, individuals, and the Northern Illinois Synod as a whole.

The following are just a few successes LSSI will have celebrated since the last Synod Assembly:

Ø      LSSI celebrated the 10^th anniversary of its Building Homes: Rebuilding Lives program. In collaboration with the Fuller Center for Housing, we are arranging for prisoners to construct frames for homes in Shreveport, Louisiana. These will become homes for families displaced by the hurricanes. As of this writing, four homes have been constructed by prisoners at Taylorville and Centralia Correctional Centers. Our goal is to send frames for 30 homes to the Gulf and construct 45 homes in Illinois this year.

Ø      At Dixon Correctional Center, volunteers helped with our Thursday Ministry and Storybook 151 times.  Because of their efforts, 843 incarcerated men participated in these programs and 487 children received books and tapes from their incarcerated fathers.

Ø      LSSI continues to be the largest statewide private provider of child welfare services in Illinois. In 2005, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois took over several foster care cases from Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois in Rockford, with the number of cases increasing by 27 between July 2005 and February 2005.

Ø      LSSI’s Gateway Intergenerational Resource Center trains volunteers from the community, many of whom are seniors, to provide outreach and events that build community. Located in the 61104 zip code area of Rockford, these services reach into a severely economically disadvantaged neighborhood. Activities of this program include an annual event to celebrate community heritage; “Share Fair,” an event that brought 300 parents and children together to learn about educational resources available to them; recruiting parents for parent/teacher conferences; connecting with families when children are absent from school; following up with children who haven’t been immunized; providing tutoring assistance; and providing nutrition educational groups.

Ø      Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) offers housing opportunities for seniors in apartment complexes throughout Illinois. Some of our facilities cater to retirees while others are tailored to those who are 62 years plus or to those who are handicapped and require barrier-free apartments. Several communities throughout the Northern Illinois Synod are home to these complexes, including DeKalb, Moline, Rockford, Joliet, Freeport, and Rochelle. In addition, LSSI offers a unique retirement community in Peterson Meadows, located in Rockford. Peterson Meadows features lovely apartments and cottages, elegant dining areas, a full array of residential programming and group outings, garage facilities, as well as other activities and amenities.

Ø      For 25 years, Intouch Adult Day Services of LSSI has provided structured activities, supervision and assistance for adults, as well as offering respite to caregivers. The majority of participants are over age 60, with an average daily census of 86 participants; 26 of those participants take part in Alzheimer’s programming. Intouch Adult Day Service serves over 250 participants who live in a 240 square mile radius around the Quad city area. Last July, Intouch relocated to a newly designed facility.  This new center allows the program to serve more clients, which in turn requires more transportation and increased operations and maintenance expenses.

Ø      LSSI’s Sterling office initiated Compañeros Contigo in September 2004, a program which offers mental health services on a sliding scale basis to members of the Spanish-speaking community. In its first year, the Compañeros Contigo Program served 21 Spanish-speaking clients, in addition to 2 English-speaking Hispanic clients. In addition to counseling, Compañeros Contigo has been able to join in staff education, health, and legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of the Latino community.

Ø      At the beginning of 2005, LSSI introduced the public phase of Strength to Strength: The Campaign for Healing, Justice and Wholeness.  This initiative has a goal of raising $45 million by June 2006.  As of December 2005, LSSI had secured $39.2 million towards this goal.

Ø      Lutheran Social Services of Illinois was reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation. Accreditation by COA attests that an organization meets the highest national standards and is delivering the best quality services to the community it serves, and is an affirmation of LSSI’s ongoing endeavor to continually improve how we deliver services to the people we serve. LSSI also closed on a $20 million tax-exempt bond issue, with the proceeds used to refinance $13.5 million of existing debt and reimburse $6 million in recent agency capital expenditures. The bonds were issued at an average yield of 5.09%, down from a previous issuing at 6.125%.

Ø      Lutheran Network for Justice Advocacy hosted Lutheran Day 2006 on March 30^th, with several hundred Lutherans and friends gathering in Springfield to learn about advocacy work in the ELCA and to meet with their state legislators. The second annual “Paul Simon Courage in Leadership Award” was awarded to the Honorable James R. Thompson, former Illinois governor and member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. LNJA training sessions were held in Rock Island and Rockford in February.

Ø      Lutheran Disaster Response- Illinois, a partnership of LSSI and Lutheran Child and Family Services, responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita through services to evacuees who relocated to Illinois and by collecting items to be sent to the Gulf. Several congregations in the Northern Illinois Synod partnered with the Jewish Federation of Chicago to send a semi-load of food and hygiene items to the distribution center at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

I offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all of those who strengthen the ministry of LSSI—pastors, lay leaders, volunteers and donors. I also wish to thank the following individuals from the Northern Illinois Synod for their service on our Board of Directors (as of March 31): The Rev. Dr. Denver W. Bitner, Ms. Linda K. Miller, Mr. Thomas W. Thoms, Ms. Leona Peterson-Spear, Mr. David R. Rydell, and Bishop Gary M. Wollersheim. Please take time to get to know them and bring to them, or to me, your questions about LSSI.

In Christ,

Frederick Aigner, Pastor

President