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Lutheran Services in Iowa Discontinues Refugee Resettlement Services
Lutheran Services in Iowa Discontinues Refugee Resettlement Services
January 27, 2010
Des Moines, Iowa - Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) announced Friday that it will discontinue refugee resettlement services. LSI will resettle new arrivals through Jan. 28, 2010 and staff will provide full services and support to new and current clients for six months.
LSI’s refugee program has increasingly struggled in recent years due to the limited funding available for resettlement programs. Compounding reductions in program funding have made it impossible to maintain a financially sustainable program while providing high quality services.
“This was such a hard decision to make,” said Jill Stuecker, LSI director for the refugee resettlement program. “The heartbreaking reality is that there is not enough funding available for us to do these services the way that our newcomers deserve.”
A formal partnership was formed in 1995 when LSI joined with Catholic Charities in Des Moines to form Refugee Cooperative Services (RCS). This program’s ultimate goal is helping newly arrived refugees become self-sufficient in three months.
International law defines refugees as people who have fled their countries because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group. In FY 2009, RCS resettled 354 people. RCS has already resettled 71 people in FY 2010, primarily from Iraq, Burma and Bhutan.
“It will be difficult to say goodbye to this program,” says Stuecker. “Working with such courageous people has been an honor. We’re grateful to all our supporters and our community for making Des Moines such a welcoming home for our refugee friends.”
The decision to discontinue LSI's refugee resettlement in Des Moines does not impact refugee services LSI offers in Muscatine.
LSI's Muscatine Refugee Community Services is a separately funded program that assists secondary migrants who moved to Muscatine after initially being resettled elsewhere in the U.S. Through mentor and volunteer support, the program provides assistance with computer skills, financial planning, literacy, navigating school or legal systems, cultural interpretation and other areas of need.
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