Lighthouse provides network of care
A decade ago in the middle of winter, Butler resident Richard Blews was in crisis.
After the pipes burst in his Newcastle rent-to-own home, he and his family lost stable housing and found themselves homeless.
“My mental health was at a peak around that time,” Blews said. “It was just bad.”
Blews found aid and assistance at a critical time through the Lighthouse Foundation, a Butler County-based Christian outreach organization meeting the needs of impoverished individuals and families in Butler and other counties.
Blews and his family stayed in the Lighthouse Foundation's transitional housing program for a little over a year before moving into a more long-term housing situation through Catholic Charities. Today, Blews is living and working on his own.
“Without the Lighthouse giving us the opportunity and the chance to do something and make something of ourselves ... that is what we needed to really get on our feet and get moving in the right direction,” he said.
Blews' story is one of many. The Lighthouse serves residents across six transitional housing locations, and offers a wide variety of forms of assistance, including a food pantry, emergency financial assistance and the Car Connection Program, which helps those in need of secure reliable transportation.“Our transitional housing program is designed to provide a safe place for families and individuals who are homeless or at risk of it, (and give) a safe stable place to call home,” said Theresa Rodriguez, marketing and grant manager at the Lighthouse. “Our program also provides supportive services, residence managers and case managers who work with the resident to set goals and help accomplish them.”Those goals for residents include gaining a driver's license, furthering education, gaining and securing custody of children, and securing gainful employment, Rodriguez said.“Our staff helps to facilitate all of that for them, while providing emotional support on top of all of that,” she said.The majority of referrals to the Lighthouse Foundation are from Butler County natives, but the organization serves some people in Allegheny and Beaver counties as well.“My favorite part is that we are able to really truly help people and impact their lives,” Rodriguez said. “Coming through our programs, most people are in a crisis. It's not something that they knew that they were going to face. A lot of times, people are needing help for the very first time. (We have) the opportunity to provide for their needs, and not only that, but provide hope.”Since the pandemic, some of the Lighthouse's clients' needs have changed.“What was really nice was we were really able to provide extra care needed,” Rodriguez said. “When they were homeschooling their children, they are needing electronics and items to fulfill that schooling. We were having to fill that gap and meet that need.”Rodriguez said that during COVID-19 in 2020, the foundation saw a lot of “graduations,” where people living in transitional housing were able to move into more permanent housing.“It was a little challenging to find rentals, but all the programs we worked with all remained operational through COVID,” she said. “We had a family who purchased their own home coming out of our program, which was amazing. We had families who were able to move in with family; they had the opportunity to do that and space for them. Our residents were so resilient and were still able to work towards their goals.”
After receiving assistance from the Lighthouse Foundation, Blews continued on to provide assistance for other people in need. Today, he's director of peer support along with a housing engagement specialist and moving coordinator at the Grapevine Center in Butler, working with people who are experiencing homelessness or mental health crises or struggling with drugs in Butler County.“I just always had a drive to help out because I was helped,” he said. “That's something I feel. I want to be a walking example for other people to see, so that way I can inspire them to do better in their lives and to help other people out too. That's what it's about, is giving a hand to somebody that needs it. A lot of times, it's easy to overlook someone, and I've seen it going through programs myself. I try to make sure that doesn't happen.”The Grapevine Center provides a safe place for people to gather and meet others, along with resources such as toiletries, a shower and a bathroom for those who need it. The first thing a visitor sees walking through the door is a gathering space and pool table, along with at least one friendly face.“This place is phenomenal. It's an amazing spot because we have our drop-in center to offer a shower to folks, and we have hot food, hot coffee, a place for people to socialize and really get to know other people,” Blews said. “We have the pool table out there and a lot of things to be icebreakers. It's just a blessing to be part of an organization that offers things like that to people.”Not everyone is aware of all the programs offered by the Lighthouse or the Grapevine Center, he said.“For somebody that may not have been through services, even as far as mental services, they don't know where to go,” he said. “It's confusing; it's tough.”Blews also works with the Butler County Low Income Housing Options Team to reach out and assist people who are homeless in the Butler area.“We give them resources, and we give them toiletries, and we get them linked up with services to get them off the street and somewhere safe, if they choose,” he said.
Blews said that the Grapevine Center, Catholic Charities and the Lighthouse Foundation are part of a strong network of support services in Butler.“We have a great recovery community in our area,” Blews said. “It's fantastic to know that.”Blews met his best friend through working at the Center for Community Resources, and says that working in support services has helped him network and meet a lot of different people helping others.The collaboration between organizations helps connect people to services that fit their needs, Rodriguez explained.“There is a huge partnership,” she said. “Butler County agencies work so well together, and we are able to provide a holistic help for them. I love that when people come to get help, they can get it here, but if it's something we don't provide, we can connect them to someone who does, so they are still getting their needs met either way. We really are seeing lives changed through our programs.”Rodriguez said that donations are vital to the Lighthouse's programs. The annual Lighthouse Toy Shoppe, a holiday toy donation drive that took place in December, relies on donations to provide gifts for families who otherwise wouldn't have anything for their children on Christmas.“We have been blown away by the generosity of this community,” Rodriguez said. “We are 70% funded by personal donations from individuals, churches and businesses, and that is huge.”The Toy Shoppe is one more way that Blews has been able to contribute to helping others. He's a regular volunteer each year, and drives to pick up toys from donation spots.“We definitely had a really good response from the community this year, and a lot of folks coming together to recognize the importance of an event like this,” he said. “It's just amazing to see and to give back.”
