LSS-NCA Refugee Services

Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area

Refugee and Immigrant Services

In the 1970s, with a great influx of refugees as a result of the Vietnam conflict, LSS/NCA formalized its refugee resettlement services based on a model of community and faith group sponsorship. Through the decades, our Refugee and Immigrant Services (RIS) program has provided a variety of case management and employment services to over ten thousand refugees in the National Capital Area and Baltimore region.

In 2005, the U.S. Department of State recognized LSS/NCA's RIS program for its quality improvements. And, our services expanded when Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service (LIRS) named our program the local provider of reception and placement services in Baltimore, Maryland.

LSS/NCA's RIS program empowers refugees and immigrants to support each other, to better access community services, and to become self-sufficient and active members of their new communities in the greater Washington, DC area and Baltimore city.

The RIS program benefits include:

	Clients with integrated case management services that ensure their successful resettlement to the area.
	Clients who find employment opportunities that result in early self-sufficiency.
	Clients who have many ESL and ELT options that result in improved English proficiency.
	Clients who have training and recertification opportunities that enable them to obtain higher paying jobs.
	Clients who are educated in available support services so that barriers to self-sufficiency may be reduced or eliminated.
	The community that is better educated about refugee issues.
	The community that builds stronger and more inclusive relationships with refugee and immigrant communities.
	The community that builds strong, cost-effective, public-private partnerships, which are more efficient at providing services.
	Community members who collaborate in meaningful community service activities that can qualify for Presidential Community Service Awards.

The RIS program provides a holistic approach to services. We build on partnerships with community and faith groups, businesses, governmental organizations, nonprofit agencies, and volunteers. Together, we change lives by providing key services that have the greatest impact on empowering refugees to become self-sufficient and active members of their new communities. Click on the service for more information.

	Refugee resettlement services
	Employment and Training services
	Community Outreach services
	Refugee Women's Empowerment Project (RWEP)
	Refugee Financial Literacy Project (RFLP)

Who to contact. . .

Staff	Email	Telephone
Larrie Warren, Director	warrenl@lssnca.org	703-698-5026 ext. 138

Refugee and Immigrant Services

Who to contact. . .

Send mail to webmaster with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 05/27/08

Send mail to webmaster with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 05/27/08