San Bernardino County
As the largest geographical county in the contiguous 48 states and one of the poorest, children and families in San Bernardino County are impacted by disproportionate food and housing insecurity, mental health and substance use disorders, family violence, child abuse, and geographical isolation. Community members encounter multiple challenges accessing services including the sheer distance involved and lack of available public transportation. LSS San Bernardino staff provide essential mental health services to children, families, and individuals with mental health issues, often traveling to provide services in client homes and communities. Services offered by staff include case management, therapeutic interventions, and psychiatric services that equip children and families to attain stability and empower them to overcome challenges. LSS San Bernardino staff teams bring the hope and love of God to the communities they serve, extending care that bolsters client self-sufficiency.
Located in the city of San Bernardino, Central City Lutheran Mission (future home of the Community Wellness Campus) supports the critical needs of the county’s most vulnerable residents. The mission assists those in crisis with emergency services, case management, life-skills training, employment and education referrals. Established in San Bernardino by five Lutheran churches in 1994, CCLM joined Lutheran Social Services of Southern California in July 2015.
Lutheran Social Services of Southern California is engaged in a very important project – the training and support of individuals who wish to become Peer Support Specialists (PSS). This project is being funded by a grant from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAi) administrating the Workforce Education and Training (WET) Grant Program, a component of the State’s MHSA. This particular WET grant provides the opportunities for public, private, and nonprofit organizations, including faith based and community-based organizations (CBOs), to conduct training and support that facilitates the placement of peer personnel. For this project, peer personnel are defined as individuals with experience as a mental/behavioral health services consumer, family member, and/or caregiver placed in designated peer positions within the Public Mental Health System (PMHS). Unique about this project is that all the training, and most individual support, are conducted on-line in a format that allows the participants to learn at their own pace without the need to travel to training sites or disrupt their current schedules.
Mission
Ignited by faith, we live out God’s love by embracing, equipping, and empowering vulnerable individuals, families & communities toward self-sufficiency.
Vision
Sharing the love of Christ, we are a community to care and be cared for…where the vulnerable are safer and stronger; where the dependent are self-sustaining; where the isolated dwell in community; where the weary will be given hope.
OUR SERVICES
Emergency Services
(Embrace)
Social Services
(Equip)
Transitional Services
(Empower)
LSS San Bernardino County provides hope to those in crisis with counseling services ranging from anger management and child abuse to family counseling and life skills training. Our Mental Health Services encompasses needs assessment, case management, prevention, senior isolation relief, behavioral modification, crisis intervention and telepsychiatry. SBC Medi-Cal eligibility is generally required, Medi-Care Insurance is also accepted.
Emergency Services
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Food, Clothing, Shelter, and Transportation Assistance
Community Education and Support Services
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Housing Counseling
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Probation Counseling
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Probation Diversion Education
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Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Education
Care Coordination Services
Mental Health Services
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Early Identification and Intervention Services (EIIS)
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Success First and Wraparound Services
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General Mental Health for Children and Adults
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Telepsychiatry
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Student Assistance Program
Housing Services
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Emergency Shelter
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Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)
Academic/After School Services
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After School Program
Workforce Development
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Peer Support Training and Placement Program
Ramona’s Story
Ramona Rifenbery is a family engagement specialist with LSS in Yucca Valley, California. Her introduction to LSS however, didn’t start there. Despite a promising career and college degree, she faced substance abuse and abusive relationships. Out on bail on a felony charge and pregnant with her second child, Ramona found herself and her child living in a car and under a bridge.
“My self-worth was nonexistent,” she remembered. “After having my second daughter I finally admitted to Child Protective Services that I was an addict and started facing my problems.” She was referred to several local resources, one of which was LSS Southern California. The impact was immediate. “For the first time in my life I had hope in the future because somebody looked beyond my circumstances,” she said. “They reached down, got on my level, embraced me and said, ‘You are worthy. You can do this. You deserve to be these girls’ mother.’”
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