The Lighthouse

In 2019, a young, pregnant mother and her 2 children were introduced to us. D and her children were escaping a domestic violence situation. D was about 2 weeks away from giving birth to her 3rd child. We were able to work with another individual to provide them housing, furniture, clothes, food, etc. We were even able to be there for the birth of her son. This is what started the Lighthouse Ministry.

A few months later, a family reached out to Manny that they were on the bus from a town several hours away. Mom and her 5 children, one with severe disabilities, were also escaping a very dangerous situation. O and her children had nowhere to go and knew no one in the area they were headed to, so we offered to let them stay in our home. At that time, our children’s home was still in the process of licensing and so we were able to take them in for a short time. We were able to find a place for them to live and provided them with furniture, clothes, food, etc thanks to the help of other generous friends. This prompted the growth of the Lighthouse Ministry over the next 2 years.

In the following two years, we helped several women who were needing to leave abusive or dangerous situations. We provided shared housing for most. A friend’s ministry helped one family to build their own home. Some families were there long term and others just needed a place to land for a short time. In Nov of 2021, we were able to launch the last family living there into some independence and due to lack of financial resources and the cancer journey for Manny, we were unable to keep the home open. We have continued to help moms and women since this time, but in different ways. We help with financial needs, medical needs, finding resources, etc. We are hopeful one day we can expand the program again as there is still a huge unmet need for many women trying to get to safety. It’s something that weighs heavy on our hearts and we hope we can do more in the future.