Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) is the social service arm of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

(ELCA)'s three Illinois

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

s. It is headquartered in Des Plaines IL. LSSI started in 1867 as an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the cholera epidemic. LSSI Services include foster care, mental health services, alcohol and drug treatment, affordable senior housing, residential programs for people with developmental disabilities, and services that help families who have been impacted by

incarceration Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

. LSSI serves over 50,000 Illinois residents each year. LSSI is Accredited, Licensed, Certified, and Approved by several Local/State/Federal Government agencies as well as several business groups. It is the largest non governmental statewide social service provider in Illinois.

References

{{Reflist Charities based in Illinois Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1867 establishments in Illinois Des Plaines, Illinois Christian charities based in the United States Social welfare charities based in the United States