LSS
opens new facility to
house youth programs in
Virginia
Virginia, Minn. (Nov. 18,
2004) -- Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) has relocated its
youth services from Kinney to a facility it owns at 507 Ninth Avenue South
in Virginia. This move will make possible additional services that LSS
could not provide at the Kinney site due to space limitations. The newly
remodeled facility has opened, and LSS is planning an open house for the
community on Dec. 6 from 1 to 5 p.m.
The new facility, named the
LSS Family Resource Center, formerly was the LSS Gethsemane Group Home, a
facility built jointly by LSS and Gethsemane Lutheran Church in the 1970s
to serve persons with developmental disabilities. Across the state, group
homes have been replaced with smaller, less institutional residences,
where residents can more easily participate in community life. Residents
from the Gethsemane Group Home have moved to new, smaller homes in Eveleth
and Mountain Iron.
Extensive renovations have
been made to the old Gethsemane Group Home. The renovated space provides
LSS a better location to serve Range youth and their families. "While the
Kinney site was located at a central point on the Iron Range and served
well as a shelter for youth, there was no room for expansion," said Deb
Marturano, program director.
In addition to providing a
crisis shelter for youth, the new facility will be used for a variety of
other youth and family services such as respite care and supervised
visitations, plus other services that are being considered in conjunction
with St. Louis County's Department of Human Services.
Renovations to the site are
extensive and fueled by the support of local and regional sponsors
including the Duluth/Superior Community Foundation, Northland Foundation
and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Hibbing. Other foundations are
considering grant requests to complete the project.
Over the summer, volunteers
from a number of local organizations have helped to clean, paint,
landscape and remodel parts of the facility. The Men's Mission from
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, youth from Our Savior's Lutheran Church of
Hibbing as well as the Industrial Arts class at Mesabi Range Community and
Technical College were among those who provided talent and materials.
"A lot of people have been
generous with time, talent, materials and funding," Marturano said. "It
shows that people in our area want to help serve kids who need to find
help and direction in their lives. It's going to be hard to thank everyone
for the support they have shown."
Please
click here
to read comments from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota President/CEO,
Mark Peterson during the LSS Family Service Center Open House, December 6,
2004.
