Mallory Berkenpas has been with LSI for nine years and is a Service Coordinator for LSI’s Early Childhood Services. What inspired you to start working at LSI? Before LSI, I thought I wanted to work with patients in a hospital setting or with the elderly population but in reality, I found that child welfare and...
We are so grateful for LSI supporters like you!
We are so thankful for the generous support of LSI donor Karol Sturm, of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls. Karol gave a memorial gift to honor her parents, Wally and Shirley. Karol’s paternal grandmother, Anna Lenius Burman, was raised at the Lutheran Children’s Home – now LSI’s Bremwood Residential Treatment Center – along...
When Lexi found out she was pregnant, panic washed over her. In nine months, she’d need to stabilize her life enough to care for a baby. In nine months, she’d need to find a stable place to live and a consistent income. In nine months, she’d be a mom. But Lexi’s panic quickly turned to...
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...
