2023 Impact Report - Lutheran Services in Iowa (2024)

Dear friends of LSI,

As our generous donors, supporters, and partners, I am pleased to share our 2023 Impact Report, sharing significant advances from the past year.

In 2023, LSI’s Direct Service Providers (DSPs) provided more than 400,000 hours of direct care service to help individuals achieve greater independence, allowing them to stay in their homes and reducing the need for in-patient hospitalization or residential care.

LSI’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Services team welcomed 407 new arrivals from around the world and helped them resettle in Iowa. LSI also received approval from the federal government to expand refugee resettlement services to the Cedar Valley area in 2024, extending LSI’s ability to welcome new arrivals to Cedar Valley, Sioux City, and Des Moines.

LSI expanded our Trauma Informed Care Program to the South Iowa Area Service Detention Agency in Lee County. This program – which LSI now offers in 5 out of 9 detention centers in Iowa – provides individual and group therapy for Iowa youth to help them work through their trauma in a healthy and productive way.

The Early Childhood Services team in Sioux City achieved national accreditation from Healthy Families America, a rigorous program that encompasses 150 Best Practice Standards regarding client engagement and retention, innovation, and positive impact on clients. Statewide, Early Childhood home visitors conducted more than 11,000 home visits for parents of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

LSI’s Foster Care and Adoption team trained and supported 475 kinship, foster, and adoptive families in 38 western Iowa counties in 2023.

On behalf of LSI, thank you for your continued support of our mission, bringing prosperity, opportunities, and hope to our communities. Together, we remain hopeful and committed to building a brighter future for all Iowans.

With eternal gratitude,

1,181,043

pounds of food grown by former refugee farmers through the LSI Global Greens program

More than

11,000

home visits to 711 Iowa families to promote healthy development and prevent child abuse

400,000+

service hours provided by Direct Service Providers to individuals with disabilities

15,201

virtual and in-person therapy sessions provided for Iowans of all ages

4,270

community behavioral health sessions for 222 BHIS clients

Just one testimonial…

Advocating for yourself is a tough skill to learn. Sometimes, we need someone to advocate for us before we can do so for ourselves. This is the case for Ashley* and her LSI therapist, JoAnn Weitz.

Two months after Ashley began her sessions, it was discovered that Ashley’s treatment was not covered by insurance. She felt devastated as she had formed a strong and safe connection with her therapist, JoAnn, and was making progress in her treatment.

JoAnn knew her client had three children with varying special needs and that she carried significant trauma from her past. Ashley needed this treatment to better care for herself and her family, so she worked to find a way Ashley could stay in treatment despite her lack of insurance coverage.

Thankfully, a grant from the American Legion of Iowa Foundation awarded to LSI allowed JoAnn to continue treating her client.

“When JoAnn told me that grant money was going to be used to pay for my treatment, I tried to decline, saying “No, thank you. I’m sure somebody else needs it more than I do,” to which Ms. Weitz replied, ‘And THAT is exactly why you need this.’ She knew my feelings of unworthiness, amongst other negative feelings, were a result of layers upon layers of trauma,” shared Ashley.

The pair made significant progress, working to heal Ashley’s trauma through various techniques, especially Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a technique that helps process traumatic memories by stimulating both sides of the brain. JoAnn helped Ashley create a timeline of her trauma, and the pair worked through each memory, using EMDR techniques to rewrite memories with a positive spin.

When JoAnn and Ashley were nearly through the trauma timeline, funding from the grant ran out. JoAnn knew her client was close to completing her treatment, so she went to her director, asking for more funding so that her client could continue. Her director found enough funding to allow Ashley to finish her sessions. JoAnn advocated for her client, who initially felt unworthiness, anger, and negativity. After treatment, Ashley feels grateful and hopeful for the future.

“Today, my cup is not only full, it runs over. I have Ms. Weitz and LSI’s generosity to thank for that,” shared Ashley.

*Names have been changed to protect the client’s privacy.

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Garden of Paradise

When the people of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Ankeny partnered with LSI to build an urban garden on their church property, they needed a great name, and the Garden of Eatin’ was established.

As part of LSI’s Global Greens program, Urban Gardens partners with the City of Des Moines, volunteers, and private landowners to build small garden plots for former refugee families in the area. In 2023, LSI planted 20 gardens in the Des Moines metro area, totaling 141,330 square feet, or 3.2 acres, of gardens.

In 2022, LSI voiced the need for garden space in the metro area. Members of Resurrection Lutheran Church heard the call and spoke with their pastor, Beth Wartick, who was eager to help. LSI staff, volunteers, and church members set to work building the garden on the church property.

“It’s amazing how quickly it all came together. Only a few weeks passed between that initial call to LSI to serve as an Urban Garden location to opening in early June,” said Rev. Wartick. “When people come together with a united purpose, miracles can happen.”

During an outdoor service on Pentecost, LSI and the church blessed and officially opened the garden, calling it the “Garden of Eatin’,” a humorous play on the biblical Garden of Eden. LSI staff, church members, and excited gardeners gathered to celebrate the garden’s opening.

Today, the garden is thriving, with refugee gardeners from the community tending to their crops primarily during the evening. Many crops are from the gardeners’ home countries and are difficult to find at local grocery stores. Gardeners often bring their whole family, with the parents working the soil while children play soccer or tag nearby.

As church members watched the garden progress, they quickly noticed the variety of produce grown in the garden, including many unfamiliar vegetables. They asked Tika, an LSI staff member helping with the garden, what the veggies were and how to cook them properly.

In response, the church held a tastetest event. Tika demonstrated how to cook the unfamiliar vegetables, and the congregation could taste new foods alongside the gardeners who grew them.

Motivated to learn more, church members invited Lynette Thornton, LSI’s Urban Garden Specialist, to attend their monthly community meal and educate the church about the gardens, growing practices, non-native vegetables, and more.

Today, there is a waitlist for gardeners hoping for a spot in the Garden of Eatin’, so the church is working to expand the garden from 19 spots to 42 in 2024.

“This is a congregation that values feeding people in partnership,” shared Rev. Wartick. “Something as simple as putting up fencing and providing water can make a huge difference.”

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Struggle to Strength

“If you were there four years ago, to see where I am today…you just wouldn’t believe it.”

Four years ago, Hali Harrell sat in an empty apartment with only a cellphone and her newborn son. Fresh out of treatment, Hali called the number the hospital gave her – the number of someone who could help. LSI’s Early Childhood Services answered the call.

“When I started the HOPES program, I was nervous. I was excited. I was hopeful but mostly nervous,” said Hali. Based on Healthy Families America’s (HFA) home-visiting model, LSI’s HOPES program pairs family support workers with parents to help raise healthy families.

Hali began working with Gretchen, an LSI family support worker. The pair met virtually as their connection began during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop them from instantly hitting it off.

“Gretchen and I immediately connected because she was really down to earth,” said Hali. “I came into this program, and I was really scared about being judged about my past and the things that brought me to this point. She made me feel like if my son was up all-night crying, I could call her, and I knew she would answer.”

Gretchen brought activities and resources for Hali and her son, Apollo. Hali was eager to learn and ready to become the best mom for her son.

“She is so patient with Apollo, so kind all the time,” said Gretchen. “She wants that little boy to soak up everything like a sponge.”

A few years later, Apollo met his milestones, and Hali maintained her sobriety. In late 2022, Hali was invited to be a co-speaker at an event on justice-involved women and children in the home-visiting field.

“It’s important for me to share my story because a lot of the stories like mine are not really heard,” said Hali. “A lot of people who have a background like me don’t get the chance to tell their story. They don’t get a chance for a second chance.”

Gretchen and the team knew Hali had a gift and an important story to share. They nominated her for the Healthy Families America Parent Advisory Committee, a group of 10-12 parents from across the country who graduated from their local home-visiting program.

“To say that Hali has a knack for speaking and connecting with an audience is an understatement,” wrote the Early Childhood team in the nomination. “She puts her heart and soul into all that she does and leaves
lasting impressions on those who are lucky enough to connect with her.”

In early 2024, Hali was selected to be on the HFA Parent Advisory Committee.

“I may not be the best parent, but I am an active parent,” said Hali. “I love to help others learn, especially if they’ve been in a position I have been in before. I’d love to tell them that this is possible, people
do care, and there are places where you can get help.”

Though her time with Gretchen will end, as HOPES supports families with children up to 5 years old, Hali and Gretchen will forever hold a place in each other’s hearts.

“I am most proud of Hali for her sobriety, for the mother she has become, for the person she has become,” said Gretchen.

“She is accomplishing so many things, and it’s only the beginning for her.”

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2023 Financial Summary

Qualified Charitable Distributions:

If you are age 73 or older, you can give up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to charities such as LSI. This is a tax-free gift opportunity, called the IRA Charitable Rollover, and was passed by Congress and signed in to permanent law as of December 2015. This law allows taxpayers to give directly to nonprofit organizations without first having to recognize the distribution as income. Have your IRA broker send a check directly to our mailing address by December 31, 2023.

Lutheran Services in Iowa
P.O. Box 848
Waverly, IA 50677
(Note: Mailed checks must come directly from your IRA broker/custodian)

Making stock gifts is simple. Contact David Blake:
Merrill Lynch
Acct. #66004023 DTC 8862
(515) 245-8050 or (800) 937-0608

7545 Ashworth Rd, Ste 100
West Des Moines, IA 50266

Please remember to contact us to let us know how and when to expect your gift.

Thank you to our 2023 Corporate Supports and Matching Pool Donors

Thank you also to our many Faith community partners. We are grateful for you!