Author: Kristyn Peck, LSSNCA CEO
At times like these when humanitarian crises are omnipresent in our world, the only thing that feels right is to do something about it. Sometimes knowing what to do can feel out of reach.
At LSSNCA, we have been at the forefront of the local response to the Great Depression, World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, the HIV/AIDs epidemic of the 1990s, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. During our 105 years of serving the Greater Washington D.C. area, we have shown up to provide services and support to the most vulnerable, to include unaccompanied children, refugees, victims of human trafficking, asylum-seekers, and young people with HIV/AIDs.
We wouldn’t be able to respond without you, and we are so grateful for your support, whether it be through your donations to our Spring Appeal, your 10,000 volunteer hours, or your contributions as a Good Neighbor Partner or Champion. We are nearing the end of our Spring Appeal on May 15, and your funds are essential to support our most critical areas of need.
While we are still ensuring the more than 4,500 Afghans we’ve welcomed to the area are provided the support and assistance they need until they are able to be self-sufficient; recruiting for safe and loving homes for refugee children arriving alone; providing mental health support to asylum-seekers, victims of human trafficking, and other survivors; and delivering quality retreats, education, and summer camps to young people in the Greater Washington D.C. area. We are also developing our response to Ukrainians arriving as asylum-seekers and those seeking humanitarian parole. We have begun serving Ukrainians in the past month, and with your support, we can continue to do so. Unlike refugees or Afghans that arrived through humanitarian parole, the current U.S. model for serving Ukrainians does not include federally funded services or benefits, requiring an unparalleled private response. Please consider donating to our Ukraine Fund and signing up for our May 12 Town Hall to learn how you can do something to help those fleeing Ukraine.
We can all do something, and at LSSNCA, we are so grateful to have partners like you. Together, let’s show the same welcome to arriving Ukrainians that we showed our Afghan Allies.
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