The Measure of a Year: What LSS Accomplished in 2012

This past year, as with every year of the last 13 decades, LSS served the most vulnerable members of society. Of those we served, 96 percent are low income or impoverished. Through providing innovative, quality Christian care, and adapting to the needs of our clients, we strive to strengthen lives, families, and communities.

To help convey the scope of our services, and who they touch, we compile a list of what our agency has achieved in the past year and post it on our website. The numbers tell quite a story!  What they don’t tell is the sheer volume of hard work and loyal support of our volunteers, donors, and a statewide staff of more than 800 individuals who make all of it possible.

In addition to adoption and foster care, our vital programs and services also include residential children’s centers, charter schools, disaster response, emergency assistance, senior retirement communities, and spiritual care.

Following is our 2012 accomplishment list. We’re grateful that we have been given the opportunity to serve so many in need—over 25,000 to be exact.

Children’s Services

• 1,913 children were provided foster care in 15 communities across Texas—Amarillo, Austin, Conroe/The Woodlands, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, Mesquite, Robstown, San Antonio, Tyler, and Victoria, Texas.
• 445 formerly abused children, ages 6-17, were served at two residential treatment centers: Krause Children’s Center in Katy, and New Life Children’s Center in Canyon Lake, Texas.
• 557 child refugees were served at Bokenkamp Emergency Shelter, Corpus Christi, Texas.
• 228 child refugees were provided transitional foster care in El Paso, Texas.
• 107 Texas children were adopted through LSS domestic adoption program.
• 69 children from countries such as China, Korea, Ethiopia, Colombia, India, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine, The Philippines, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Taiwan were adopted through the LSS international adoption program in partnership with other international adoption agencies.
• 4,545 volunteers served at New Life, Krause, Bokenkamp, and fundraising events.
• 145 New Orleans foster youth were served by BeREAL, a mentoring program for teens “aging out” of the Louisiana foster care system.
• 1,084 students were served at Trinity Charter Schools.

Senior Services

• More than 989 older adult residents of LSS senior living options, ranging from independent living to skilled nursing and memory care, in Houston, Brenham, Victoria, Round Rock, and Lubbock, Texas.
• 19 individual patients (1,904 hrs) were served through Care-Connect care management at The Village in Spring, Texas.

Services for Families in Crisis

• 10,294 individuals were provided emergency assistance with rent, utilities, prescriptions, and other basic needs at Neighborhood House in Lubbock, Texas. More than 127,000 lbs. of food and hygiene products were distributed.
• 1,668 individual patients were served during 8,121 patient visits through Health For Friends Clinic in Lubbock, Texas.

Disaster Response

• Approx. 150 families were helped with emergency disaster assistance in TX and LA (wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes).
• Rebuild/unmet needs funding went to more than 30 families in Bastrop and Spicewood.
• Aid was given to more than 300 farm families suffering drought/wildfires through Haylift to Texas efforts.
• Repair/rebuild work was done on 60+ homes in Bastrop.
• Coordinated approx. 1,900 volunteers for nearly 53,000 volunteer hours.
• Total clients served by LSSDR = 540 families; 1,458 individuals

Bastrop Wildfire Assistance Deadline Extended

Homeowners affected by the Bastrop County wildfires can still apply for assistance to rebuild and repair their homes through the Texas General Land Office Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Program managed in part by LSS Disaster Response. The previous deadline of January 28, 2013 has been extended to the new deadline of Friday, February 22, 2013.

Those eligible for consideration:

• Homeowner(s) during the fire event Aug. 30 to Dec. 31, 2011
• Home was primary residence during the fire event
• Home damaged as direct result of fires
• Damaged unit was a single-family residence
• Have existing unmet housing need

Download the Reconstruction Application in English or Spanish online or stop by the LSS Disaster Response office at 1106 College St., Suite D, in Bastrop (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday).

The deadline has also been extended for the Down Payment Assistance Program (DPA), so applicants should inquire about eligibility for that program as well. Information about the DPA program is available in English and Spanish for download.

Questions? Call 855-706-7556 toll free, or the main number: 512-706-7556, or go online to www.LSSDisasterResponse.org. It is important to get the word out about the new deadline, so we can get help to those who still need assistance. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

 

Post Hurricane Isaac – What We Know Now

Slow-moving Hurricane Isaac struck southeastern Louisiana in late August, and we now have a clearer picture of what has been left in its wake. Throughout the state, nearly 59,000 homes were damaged, four times the number officials originally estimated after the storm made landfall. Debris cleanup is ongoing in many parishes, and the storm surge associated with Isaac has shown us the devastating effects a long, slow hurricane can have.

While Hurricane Katrina touched the hearts of Americans across the country, Isaac seems to have quickly fallen off the national radar. With Isaac no longer part of the nightly news cycle, those impacted can be easily forgotten. LSS will not let that happen! Our services to Louisiana residents continue as we work side-by-side with our government and faith-based partners.

It will take months for some and years for most to help survivors recover. Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) remains committed to helping meet the unmet needs of those impacted, as well as aiding in the long-term recovery efforts of the communities that suffered the greatest damage, such as hard-hit Plaquemines Parish.

Please continue to keep Louisiana’s affected residents and responders in your prayers, and consider helping Isaac’s survivors with a donation that will allow us to continue responding to changing needs and reaching out to those who have suffered loss and destruction. Additional information about LSSDR’s disaster relief operations is on the LSSDR website: www.lssdisasterresponse.org.

Bastrop Rebuild & Recovery Case Managed by LSSDR

Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) has been selected by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) as the case management organization to help victims of the 2011 Bastrop fires begin the process of rebuilding their homes.

The first step for Bastrop County fire victims wishing to apply for grant money to rehabilitate or rebuild is to get an online application from LSSDR or through the GLO website. LSSDR will process the applications for single family homeowners, determining eligibility based on the criteria outlined in the GLO Housing Application Intake Process Handbook. Both the Application and the Handbook are available for download from the LSSDR website. The Application may also be downloaded en español .

This news may not affect you personally, but perhaps you know someone who could benefit from the information and can pass it along!

Important deadline: Applications for the aid are due by Sept. 28, 2012. 

Homeowner applicants must prove that their primary residence was in Bastrop and was destroyed by the 2011 fires. Once deemed eligible, damaged dwellings will be inspected to determine if the dwelling meets required thresholds, or the homeowner may be referred to the Disaster Recovery Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program. Applications for down payment assistance for individuals who may or may not have owned a home previously will be available in late October 2012.   

Funding for the grants comes from $31.3 million worth of Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which are being administered by the Land Office.  

To help begin assisting affected residents, LSS Disaster Response has opened a physical office in Bastrop at the following address:

Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response

Texas General Land Office, Texas Wildfire Program

1106 College Street Suite D

Bastrop, TX 78602

1-855-706-7556 — Toll Free;1-512-706-7556 — Main Telephone Number

Hours of Operation:   9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 140767, Austin, TX 78714-0767

Now that Isaac is gone … the real work begins.

While the floodwaters of Hurricane Isaac have all but receded in most affected areas of Louisiana, efforts continue for recovery from the prolonged, heavy rainfall, severe flooding, and high damaging winds. Shelter operations, power restoration, and flood-fighting remain in some areas while other areas are improving and allowing residents to return home.

On September 4^th, the Louisiana Public Service Commissioner reported that 25,413 customers were still without power. Those without power are contending with a new complication – trying to rebuild their lives amid blistering temperatures and no air conditioning. The dangers of heatstroke and heat exhaustion join the list of worries and setbacks.

Throughout the state, at least 13,000 homes were damaged, according to a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. That figure is a preliminary estimate, and officials expect the number to rise as they gain access to some of the hardest-hit areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved supplemental funding for debris removal from private property in especially hard-hit Plaquemines Parish. Seven FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) remain open.

The presidential disaster declaration issued on August 26^th for Hurricane Isaac made federal assistance available to eligible survivors in 10 parishes: Ascension, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John and St. Tammany. On the positive side, the Corps of Engineers was roundly praised for the performance of its $14 billion in levee improvements around New Orleans.

Hurricane Isaac: Update and Aftermath

(Times-Picayune)

Now that Hurricane Isaac has been downgraded to a tropical depression, we are getting a clearer picture of what has been left in its wake.

We know that the slow-moving storm has flooded stretches of the state – in suburbs like LaPlace and Slidell Louisiana, where some families who had moved from New Orleans after Katrina found they had escaped one flood zone only to find another.

Flash flooding caused the evacuation of residents in several suburban neighborhoods that were left underwater after Isaac dumped up to 16 inches of rain. Some 500 people had to be rescued by boat or high-water vehicles, and the storm cut power to about 47 per cent of the state. That was down to 39 percent by Thursday evening, according to the Public Service Commission.

In Plaquemines Parish, crews intentionally breached a levee that was strained by Isaac’s floodwaters.  Tens of thousands of residents in Tangipahoa Parish were ordered to leave because of fears that a dam might fail.

It will be a few days before the water in these flooded areas recedes and people can return home. New Orleans itself was spared, thanks to new floodgates, super-sized levees and powerful pumps that did exactly what they were supposed to do.

What Now?

A message to volunteers from the Dept. of Homeland Security Center of the White House Office of Faith-based & Neighborhood Partnerships,has stressed that to “prevent unsolicited donations and spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers from overwhelming communities affected by Hurricane Isaac,” financial contributions to agencies to purchase needed items is the best way to help. They emphasized that collecting goods (such as clothing, household items, and food) is best handled by well-funded voluntary agencies and not through the expensive process of collecting, sorting, packaging, transporting, receiving, etc.

LSSDR remains committed to helping meet the immediate unmet needs of the displaced residents as they become known, as well as aiding in the long-term recovery efforts of the communities that suffered the greatest damage. We will work side-by-side with our government agency and other faith-based partners as we proceed.

Please continue to keep Louisiana’s affected residents and responders in your prayers, and consider helping Isaac’s survivors with an online donation that will allow us to respond quickly to changing needs and reach out to those who have suffered loss and destruction. If you would like additional information about LSSDR’s disaster relief operations, please go to our website, www.lssdisasterresponse.org.

Hurricane Isaac – How You Can Help

As you are aware, Hurricane Isaac is continuing to pound Louisiana and the Gulf Coast with heavy rains and damaging winds which made landfall early today. This slow-moving storm, classified as a Category 1 Hurricane with 80 mph winds, brings a greater chance for flooding the longer it hovers, and the flood-producing rains are likely to continue for days with prolonged periods of tornadoes.

Across the region, schools and government offices have closed, hospitals and nursing homes have been evacuated, and some entire towns have been told to leave for higher ground. Serious flooding and widespread power outages from downed power lines are occurring along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. Many Louisiana residents of the low-lying coast left boarded-up homes; others in and around New Orleans are hunkered down, trusting in a strengthened levee system that failed famously under Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the area seven years ago to the day.

Search and rescue teams have been mobilized and Louisiana officials have asked trained and authorized teams from Texas and six other states to be on standby. Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) will play a key role in disaster response, as we have during Hurricanes Ike, Rita, and of course Katrina. Once again, LSSDR is committed to helping meet the immediate unmet needs as they become known, and to serving the affected communities working with our government agency and other faith-based partners over the “long haul,” however prolonged that turns out to be.

We have already received many calls and emails from individuals and churches asking, “How can I help?”

At this time, we ask our supporters to keep affected residents and responders in their prayers as we begin to learn the extent of the impact.  I would also like to ask you to join me and LSS in preparing to help these survivors, with an online donation that will allow us to respond quickly to changing needs and reach out to those who will suffer loss and destruction.  If you would like additional information about LSSDR’s disaster relief operations, please go to our website, www.lssdisasterresponse.org.

Volunteers: Thanks for all you do!

“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience and just plain love for another.” – Erma Bombeck

This week of April 15-21 is National Volunteer Week 2012. In President Obama’s presidential proclamation to kick off the week, he cited the more than half a million hours of volunteer service that followed the devastating tornadoes in Joplin Missouri.

At LSS, our own volunteer stats are pretty impressive too: In 2011 alone, 9,430 volunteers made life better for the young victims of abuse and neglect residing at New Life, Krause, and Bokenkamp, our children’s treatment facilities. We know that volunteers will get involved when a cause is close to their hearts, and at LSS that often involves troubled children.

Our volunteers go above and beyond to help kids in crisis every day. Chicktime, we’re talking about you! Gala and golf committee members, this means you! Church and service-driven youth groups, three cheers for you!

The Central Texas wildfires last fall inspired so many in-the-trenches volunteers, who helped LSS Disaster Response during and following the fires in and around Bastrop. Haylift to Texas volunteers pitched in (and are still pitching in) to help the ranchers affected by these fires and the drought feed their livestock.

At this moment in time, this week, we want to celebrate and shine the spotlight on our volunteers. They are the ones who have quietly taken action to improve the lives of others through service.

Volunteers, know that we honor and appreciate you – not just this National Volunteer Week, but every day of the year.

Dallas Tornadoes 2012

Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) is partnering with several other emergency assistance organizations to assist the families who have experienced damaged or destroyed homes and possessions due to the catastrophic tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area on Tuesday, April 3^rd.

Right now we are addressing the immediate, emergency needs for food, shelter, and clothing of affected individuals and families. “Our past experience with survivors of natural disasters has proven time and again that financial assistance to cover these immediate living expenses is the best way we can help,” said Mark Minick, LSS senior vice president for Disaster Response. “Additionally, we are asking for your prayers for the families whose lives have been devastated.”

LSSDR is grateful for any financial assistance to support these relief efforts at this time. The quickest and easiest avenue is to make on online donation to LSS Disaster Response.  Designate “Dallas Tornadoes 2012” in the drop-down menu.

In addition to working with LWR, Texas VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), and other community groups, LSSDR will also be working with local congregations and the Synod and District to provide emergency grants to those who are in need.

Damage Assessment:

The Red Cross has assembled a preliminary damage assessment based on verbal conversations with field staff and emergency managers in the affected areas.  Throughout the Metroplex area the following information has been gathered: 

Destroyed	205
Major	140
Affected	301
Total	646

This will be verified with actual damage assessments, on the streets which will continue.  So far damages are in five primary locations, with Lancaster being the largest.

Additional damage assessment teams are arriving in the area to continue assessing damages and to be available if there are additional damages in other parts of the region. 

Resources: Shelter

Shelter Name	Shelter Address	City	County/ Parish	Zip
TOMMIE M ALLEN RECREATION CENTER	7071 BONNIE VIEW RD	DALLAS	DALLAS	75241
KIEST PARK RECREATION CENTER	3080 S HAMPTON RD	DALLAS	DALLAS	75224
Lancaster Recreation Center	1700 S Veterans Memorial Pky	LANCASTER	DALLAS	75134

Resources: Food

Southern Baptist Texas Convention Kitchen is set up in Lancaster to provide meals.  USDA and HEB are coordinating with SBTC for food delivery and local food banks and restaurants are supporting the initial breakfast meal.

LSS By the Numbers: 2011 Accomplishments

By February of each year, award season is in full swing, and “Best of” and “Top 10” lists have been publicized in every magazine on the rack. In addition, organizations – both for-profit and non-profit – have compiled their year-in-review recaps and statistics. Lutheran Social Services is no exception, as we take stock annually of just who, and how many, we serve in a given year.

We recently posted the list of “2011 Accomplishments” on our website. The total scope of our services may surprise you! Categorized into four areas of service – Children’s Services/Senior Services/Families in Crisis/Disaster Response – the numbers tell quite a story. What they don’t tell is the sheer volume of hard work and loyal support of our volunteers, donors, and a statewide staff of more than 850 that makes all of it possible.

We invite you to take a look at our 2011 accomplishment list below. We’re pretty proud of it!

Children’s Services

· 1,871 children provided foster care in 16 communities across Texas—Amarillo, Austin, Bryan/College Station, Conroe/The Woodlands, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, Mesquite, Robstown, San Antonio, Tyler, and Victoria, Texas.

· 500 formerly abused children, ages 6-17, served across three residential treatment centers: Krause Children’s Center in Katy, New Life Children’s Center in Canyon Lake, Texas, and Nelson Children’s Center in Denton (now closed).

· 444 child refugees served at Bokenkamp Emergency Shelter, Corpus Christi, Texas.

· 184 child refugees provided transitional foster care in El Paso, Texas.

· 148 Texas children adopted through LSS domestic adoption program.

· 52 children from countries such as China, Korea, Ethiopia, Colombia, India, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine, The Philippines, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Taiwan adopted through LSS international adoption program in partnership with other international adoption agencies.

· 9,430 volunteers made life better for children at New Life, Nelson, Krause, and Bokenkamp.

Senior Services

· 84 older adults served through our Adult Day Care Center in El Paso, Texas.

· More than 850 older adult residents of LSS senior living options, ranging from independent living to skilled nursing and memory care, in Houston, Brenham, Victoria, Round Rock, and Lubbock, Texas.

· 297 individuals served through Care-Connect senior care management services, now serving clients in Austin and Spring, Texas.

Services for Families in Crisis 

· 13,968 individuals provided emergency assistance with rent, utilities, prescriptions, and other basic needs at Neighborhood House in Lubbock, Texas. More than 62 tons of food and hygiene products were distributed.

· 1,606 individual patients served during 7,280 patient visits through Health For Friends Clinic in Lubbock, Texas.

Disaster Response

· 8,102 Hurricane Ike-affected households were provided case management by LSS Disaster Response through the RISE program.

· 6,448 Hurricane Ike-affected households received more than $9.5 million in direct assistance for housing-related unmet needs, such as furniture and appliances.

· 22,213  individuals served by LSS Disaster Response in 2011.

· $13,993,064 total value of services provided by LSS Disaster Response in 2011.