A casual conversation between two friends about canning became a community-driven collaboration empowering people with skills in gardening, food preservation and local food systems to foster self-reliance, wellness and economic opportunity. And in just a few months.
LSS of South Dakota hosted three large events in June to support adoptive families, lift up teens in foster care and celebrate cultural richness.
In these coming years, LSS will need to demonstrate our agency’s moxie to equip our clients to be resilient and thrive in strong, healthy families.
LSS of South Dakota’s vision is that all people in South Dakota will be healthy, safe and accepted. Since 1948, part of that important work has been welcoming refugees into our state and assisting them with integration into their new community.
Wyatt and Erica always knew they wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. As high school sweethearts, they often talked about adoption, but everything changed the day they heard a powerful message during a church service — one that planted the seeds that opened their hearts to an unexpected calling: becoming foster parents.
“Seeking out services when struggling is a strength.” That’s what Michelle Wiegand, clinical associate director of LSS Behavioral Health Services, reminded Stella, an eighth grade student, and her family when they reached out for support.
Swinging open the doors of The Coliseum on a Sunday afternoon, you encounter a sound unlike any other in Sioux Falls: hypnotic chants, thunderous booms, the snaps and cracks of wood against wood. Seven members of the Royal Drumming group Abatimbo move in sync, pounding handmade instruments from their native Burundi.
The Festival of Cultures will return to downtown Sioux Falls on Saturday, June 14 — and this year’s celebration is the biggest yet.
The LSS Multi-Cultural Center and Levitt at the Falls are continuing their partnership and expanding the event’s footprint. The festival now will span the entire length of the Levitt lawn and south parking lot, making even more room for the city’s diverse communities to celebrate and share what makes their cultures unique.
Substance use was a part of her family history long before she developed an addiction of her own. Growing up, she witnessed patterns of addiction among loved ones, including her grandfather, who passed away just this year because of alcohol-related complications.
The diverse range of services at LSS gives the organization a unique ability to care for anyone who walks through its doors, from struggling families and at-risk youth to older adults seeking resources and support.
Over the past 100 years, LSS has evolved continuously to meet the changing needs of its communities. National partnerships play a vital role in bringing this vision to life — that all South Dakotans will be safe, healthy and accepted.
