Women of the ELCA
support Abound in Hope  
Capital Campaign
for Luther Hall

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota and North Dakota Women of the ELCA have entered into a renewed partnership to mobilize women in North Dakota in support of the Luther Hall portion of Lutheran Social Services’ Abound in Hope capital campaign. Lutheran Social Services is in the early stages of a $6.5 million capital campaign, with $1.5 million earmarked for remodeling and an addition to Luther Hall and $5 million for a new program center in Fargo.

“Because helping children is such a focal point of the Women of the ELCA mission, we are strongly urging every unit to make a pledge to this campaign, which will ultimately help children throughout the state of North Dakota,” said Alvina Skogen, president of the Western Synod Women of the ELCA.

Noted Joy Vaagene, president of the Eastern ND Women of the ELCA Synod, “The heating at Luther Hall is inefficient… too cold and costly in the winter…summer air conditioning is limited…air exchange and humidity are constant problems. This is not conducive for optimal living or working.”

Luther Hall was originally built to serve as a home for unwed mothers. The facility was not designed for youth with emotional behavior disorders. The building was built in the early 1960s and converted into a residential youth treatment center in 1991.

Luther Hall is a 16-bed psychiatric residential treatment facility serving children from the ages of 10 to 18 from all across the state of North Dakota.   The program provides care and treatment to youth with mood and anxiety disorders, pervasive developmental problems, attention deficit and disruptive behavior, substance abuse, and psychotic and personality disorders. The program, which provides a low resident-to-staff ratio and one-on-one supervision when necessary, is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and licensed by the North Dakota Department of Human Services.

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