In 2008, Shane and Lona Lakatos with their three children, moved from Dearborn, MI to live in Toledo, OH where Shane was born and raised. Because Shane and Lona speak Arabic, they noticed that wherever they went, as a family or alone they would meet Arabs in the community. Not long after meeting, conversations would eventually lead to need for help. Whether it was letters that they received in the mail and they could not understand or the lack of basic family resources, Shane and Lona would help these families in every way possible.

Due to their language skills and professional experience, Shane and Lona Lakatos provided very prompt and effective service and through word of mouth, they became very busy with more complicated cases of Arab families asking for their assistance.

Even though Lucas County is home to the largest Arab community per capita in the state of Ohio, there was no agency or organization specialized to assist Arab families. Seeing the need to serve in an organized fashion, In January 2011, Social Services for the Arab Community (SSFAC) was launched by Shane and Lona under a local non-profit organization umbrella.

SSFAC grew rapidly in terms of caseload and reputation, and received grants from The Toledo Community Foundation, TJX Foundation (TJ Maxx), Stranahan Supporting Org. and the Anderson’s Corporation to serve our clients’ needs.

Due to the need for specialization and growth, in September 2012 SSFAC became an independent non-profit organization in the state of Ohio. On December 30th 2013, SSFAC was approved for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the IRS.