Sarah Lemmon November 10, 2014 6:28am

Photo: Lutheran Community Services

As we approach the holidays, families often think about ways to help other families in need.
Lutheran Community Services recently contacted us to let us know that foster parents are in high demand.

Here’s more about the program and what they are looking for.

In refugee camps all over the world, there are children who have lost everything – their country, their home, their sense of belonging. Many of these children have no parents or adult to care for them and are alone, scared, and desperately want a family. The Refugee and Immigrant Children’s Program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest works with children with no adult to care for them and places them with loving foster families in King and Snohomish counties, including in Seattle and the Greenlake neighborhood. Greenlake’s family friendly and welcoming atmosphere make it a fantastic community for the children in our program.
We have been working with refugee children from the world over (including Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many others) since 1980. As of 2003 we have also been helping match immigrant children seeking asylum or similar legal status with foster families, such as the ones from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These children undertake perilous journeys thousands of miles long in search of safety with foster families.

These children are seeking safety from persecution, war, family breakdown or violence; all are facing these dangers alone. Foster families are always needed for these children, mostly teenagers, to support them and help them achieve their dreams as they become a part of our local communities. Our program views family very broadly – family to us is someone who will love and care for a child as if they were their own. Foster parents can be single, married, unmarried and LGBT couples and individuals are welcome.

Children in our program receive extensive wrap around services including a bi-lingual social worker, support for education, health coverage, cultural events and connections, and many others. Foster parents also receive support and training on working with these amazing and resilient children. For more information please visit www.refugeechildren.net, like us on Facebook, or call or email Stephanie at (206) 850-5780 or slennon@lcsnw.org for more information, questions, or to sign up for an informational session. You can make a life changing difference for a child!