Lighthouse Mi

Lighthouse addresses the immediate, emergency needs of community members by quickly providing access to flexible, client-centered, and housing-first programming. Lighthouse's emergency services department includes our agency family Shelter as well and various resources to help households resolve financial crises. Lighthouse's emergency Shelter is Oakland county's only dedicated family Shelter serving families of all types and makeups and successfully transitions over 70% into housing. Through various funding streams, Lighthouse addresses and resolves immediate crises by providing a variety of services including: eviction prevention, emergency utility assistance to prevent shut-offs, and rapid re-housing assistance. Lighthouse also provides emergency food to individuals and families in need.

While it is critical that we meet the emergency needs of those experiencing poverty, to truly address multigenerational systemic poverty we must go beyond resolving household level crises. We must also provide long-term affordable housing options that provide families with the foundation needed to focus on long-term goals, achieve stability, and end intergenerational poverty. Tens of thousands of Oakland county households are rent burdened paying more than 30% of their pretax income on rent. Oakland county needs more affordable options throughout the entire county. Lighthouse addresses this need through a multifaceted strategy that currently includes building and developing new affordable housing and acquiring and renovating existing affordable housing.

Lighthouse's stability services department consists of a variety of programs designed to have long-term engagement with the households served. This includes: transitional housing for women and children, many of whom have experienced domestic violence; permanent supportive housing programs that prioritize households experiencing chronic homelessness; in-home case management for one year for recently re-housed households; and economic mobility coaching and services.