Claudia Kyalangalilwa has been LSI’s Refugee Connection Center Supervisor in Des Moines for one year. What inspired you to start working at LSI? I have been working with the refugee community for a while, specifically with refugee resettlement. Although I found my work very fulfilling, I wanted to be involved with work that moved beyond...
When her husband, Ron, told her he wanted to become a foster parent, Danette was nervous. She was worried her biological children, Nicole and Nathaniel, would not get along with the children they would bring into their home. She didn’t know how her extended family would welcome the children, knowing they would likely have to...
Every week, when 8-year-old Chase met with LSI’s Pastor Dennis Bauer, he would ask to pray for “the same old thing: to find a good, loving forever family.” Chase is in third grade. But in his young life, he has already experienced trauma most of us cannot fathom. At age 6, he witnessed his mother’s...
Everything is going in a positive direction.
Last year at this time, Troy didn’t recognize his son. Loki, his 16-year-old, was struggling in school. He’d once been ambitious and conscientious about schoolwork, but now, his grades were slipping. He was becoming detached and disconnected from his family and his friends. He bottled up his emotions and refused to open up. Troy felt...
A year and a half ago, Kevin was homeless. He struggled with substance use. He didn’t have a car. Or a driver’s license. Or a job. Then, his world turned upside down and all at once, his priorities shifted. He found out he was a father to a beautiful baby girl, Willow. Kevin immediately began...
Bo dreaded even walking down the street. Whenever he saw families walking hand-in-hand, the 17-year-old got a sinking feeling of sadness in his stomach. He was lonely and craved connection. Bo had experienced neglect and emotional and physical abuse in the past, and he struggled to connect with his adoptive family. Eventually, his past trauma...
Bruce thought he had tried everything. His daughter, Amanda, had received 24-hour supported community living care for years, living in a busy home with three roommates. And while he was grateful for her compassionate team of caregivers, he knew something needed to change. Amanda was lashing out and becoming aggressive, and she required multiple psychiatric...
Durga’s community and family were in danger. The growing violence and systematic ethnic cleansing in Bhutan made it unsafe for his family to stay in the country they called home. After being forced to flee Bhutan, Durga came to the U.S. as a refugee, with a dream of building a better life. He wanted a...
