LFS Carolinas Transitions Refugee Services out of Triad Region
2/23/2010

Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas (LFS Carolinas) has provided comprehensive resettlement services to refugees in Greensboro and the entire Triad region since 1979. Through dedicated staff, generous church co-sponsors and community volunteers, strong peer organizations, and unwavering support from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) nationally, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), and the State of North Carolina’s Refugee Office, we have served the needs of vulnerable people for 31 years as they come to America to build new lives of safety, freedom and hope.

Given LFS’ legacy of service to newly arrived refugees and the joy this work has brought to all involved, it is therefore difficult to announce that LFS, LIRS, and PRM have come to a joint decision to discontinue this program in Greensboro effective June 30, 2010. New arrivals to LFS in Greensboro have been suspended effective immediately.

This is a financial decision driven by the current economic conditions that have affected the program’s sustainability at this site. Our agency resettlement resources will be focused on the refugee offices in Raleigh and Columbia, SC, thus continuing our tradition of offering hospitality and welcome to refugees.

We all hold as highest priority the best interest of our clients. LFS will serve our current Greensboro clients through June as we begin the transition process of linking them with the other outstanding resettlement agencies in the community.

LFS will do everything in its power to insure a smooth transition. LFS values the dedication and professionalism of our staff, and we will assist them in the upcoming months to the best our ability as they plan for their future endeavors. The Immigration and Citizenship services provided by LFS will remain unchanged at this time. While such change is never easy, we are confident that the generosity of the Greensboro community and the professionalism and expertise of our fellow resettlement agencies will continue without faltering for the sake of the people we are called to serve.

LFS Carolinas has served the Carolinas’ most vulnerable people since 1976. The agency grew from the roots of Lutheran Orphanage of the South, founded in 1888 in Salem, Virginia. As a social ministry organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we respond to Christ’s call to serve all people, regardless of race, national origin, orientation, religion or creed.

LFS Carolinas provides safe haven for children in crisis, adults with special needs, refugees, and individuals and families at risk of becoming homeless or struggling to recover from disaster. Local program sites are coordinated from offices in Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte, N.C., and Columbia, S.C.