Coming Together to Increase Knowledge and Capacity
The Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSSMN) case management teams for both Southwest Minnesota and Red Lake have been engaged in outreach and initial casework activities with their respective disaster clients, but needed additional training in order to better assist clients with the next steps of recovery. They worked with partners in the Midwest Disaster Consortium to bring in experienced trainers from Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota and Lutheran Family & Children’s Services of Missouri to offer a formal disaster case management class to the team in Minnesota, as well as to a newly hired Disaster Response Supervisor with Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota. Not only did this training increase the knowledge and capacity of eight students, but it also brought together four Lutheran Social Service entities to share best practices, tools and resources to better serve disaster-affected people in future disasters as well.
LSSMN received a grant from the Midwest Early Recovery Fund to support their work, including database development and support, disaster case management services, reconstruction management, and volunteer coordination in response to floods in Minnesota.
