Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) is teaming up with Wright County to offer Crisis Nursery services that support the safety and wellbeing of area children and families.

The Wright County Area Crisis Nursery provides short-term child care to families during medical emergencies, child care challenges or other difficult situations.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, one of the largest social service organizations in our state, has a responsibility to Minnesotans in all 87 counties we serve – to stand for opportunity, equity and justice. We show this through person-centered services and programs that support more than 100,000 Minnesotans every year. This includes supporting individuals with disabilities to live their best lives, youth experiencing homelessness to find stability, and older adults to continue living safely in their own homes – among many other examples. 

COVID-19 has impacted many aspects of our world, but one thing it hasn’t changed is that there are children in need of loving homes.

There are more than 900 children in Minnesota’s foster care system who are waiting to be placed with adoptive families. The pandemic hasn't changed the need for foster families, but it has changed how state and private adoption agencies are currently operating.

Many residents in Minneapolis, impacted by grocery store closures, damage to businesses, job loss and transportation challenges need help with basic needs.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) will be organizing a collection of basic needs on Thursday, June 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center for Changing Lives, 2400 Park Avenue South in Minneapolis.

45 Million Americans are in the process of paying off mountains of student loan debt.

But financial experts say the COVID-19 pandemic provides many with a unique opportunity.

According to the Institute of College Access and Success, Americans have compiled $1.6 trillion in student debt.

But many who have college loans recently got some good news when the CARES Act was signed in March. 

Those with federal student loans would be granted forbearance.

Through a new federal grant that is part of the CARES Act, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is now able to provide older Minnesotans ages 60+ two meals a day, seven days a week through its LSS Meals service – up from one daily meal.

Since the start of the pandemic, Lutheran Social Service has experienced a dramatic increase in meals requested. More than 120,000 meals have been served since mid-March, an increase of 30 percent over the same period last year.

Kris Hanson will lead new efforts in Duluth to find and support caring foster parents for children who are unable to remain safely in their homes as a Therapeutic Foster Care Coordinator for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. Hanson, a former foster parent, fostered children while also raising her own children.

On an average day, there were approximately 9,300 children and young adults in care last year, primarily due to parental drug abuse and child neglect, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Lutheran Social Services Caregiver Support is organizing different events every Wednesday for older adults all across Minnesota.

Those who joined the event today were given a virtual tour of a farm in Park Rapids.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota can now provide meals to more Minnesotans facing food insecurity thanks to a recent expansion of their commercial kitchen in Waterville.

A recent donation from Donald Nelson, of Northfield, allowed LSS to update the kitchen to meet a growing demand for meals during the state’s response to COVID-19. The site is now one of two Minnesota production kitchens for LSS Meals to Go – a service that prepares delicious homestyle frozen meals and ships them statewide. The other LSS Meals to Go site is Hilltop Regional Kitchen in Eagle Bend.

May is Foster Care Awareness Month and many children won’t be able to see their moms this Sunday for Mother’s Day due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster families are doing what they can, including Elbow Lake foster family Katelyn and Connor Grytdahl, who are taking care of four siblings between the ages of 2 and 10, alongside their own 7-month-old and 2-year-old.