Lighthouse Center helps get people back on their feet

WASHINGTON - The Lighthouse Center in Washington has helped homeless individuals for the last year. The experience has taught the director that Iowa needs to improve its mental health and educational services

Darren Brown is the director of Tribulation and Trust Ministries. He started the Lighthouse Center in November 2019. He saw a need in Washington and said it was Gods calling for him. Before that, Washington County did not have any form of official homeless shelter. The center offers food, clothing, counseling, furniture and emergency housing with transitional living.

Their building on North Iowa Avenue started with 20 beds. Brown said the most he has housed at one time was 34 last winter. The staff had to set up cots in a different area of the building.

The shelter now has 25 beds with 20 people utilizing them right now.

In the last year, Brown said he has seen the center help many, with people moving to long-term treatment programs and has seen families get their own homes.

Brown said a large portion of the homeless problem could be solved with education and community awareness.

One of the problems he sees is a broken mental health system in Iowa. Occasionally, people who are mentally unstable will lose their living situations and are unable to live on their own.

'A lot of homelessness is tied to people on mental health medication,” he said. While some are not responsible with their money, others are unable to live on their own or without assistance.

Right now, Brown said he has a man living at the center in that situation. The man gets a Social Security check every month but doesn't make enough to live on his own. For eight or nine months he has lived at the center, he said. He is supposed to have a case manager who helps him find a place to live, but it has not happened yet.

'It's really frustrating,” he said.

Many of the people the Lighthouse Center has housed are there because of poor decision-making or lack of planning skills, Brown said.

He said the problem could be reduced if there were tools available to teach people about money management and decision-making.

'When you teach money management classes, help them trouble shoot their problems, and help setting up a checking account, there is accountability and structure,” he said.

Many individuals are not paying their bills and can't get out from under the debt, he said.

For example, Brown said a family of six - two parents and four teens - are currently living at the Lighthouse Center trying to get ahead of the game.

'They had worked their way into a hole to the point where they were living in a hotel,” he said. The family was paying more in weekly hotel bills than what it would cost to pay monthly rent.

He is now working with them to get out of debt and find a rental large enough for the whole family.

'The world out there takes advantage of people when they're down like that,” he said.

Programs such as payday loans can help, but then the individuals are paying huge amounts of interest, he added.

People are able to stay at the shelter for 45 days but it can be extended if necessary. Brown said if people are motivated to make a change, they oftentimes stay for months.

'It takes that long just because of damage to credit and bank accounts,” he said.

The shelter gives them time to pay off huge electric bills and work toward a sustainable living environment, he said. If it is not sustainable the individuals will most likely have to return.

In Washington, Brown said many people struggle to find housing. Most of the fixed-income housing is occupied with a long waitlist. He hopes that there is a way to get another fixed income apartment complex such as Autumn Park.

Housing in Washington has been a top priority of local groups such as the Washington Economic Development Group, but he said when people are living paycheck to paycheck it is hard to own a home.

'Rental housing takes a big hit because people don't know how to take care of houses,” he said.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lighthouse Center had a successfully year.

There were a few COVID-19 cases, but it was contained and 'didn't spread like wildfire,” he said.

Brown said with 10 employees, the shelter puts around $150,000 into community payroll. He said they gave away more than $56,000 in food and helped 117 families,

'We're looking forward to another year,” he said.

When Brown first started the center, he thought the operating cost was going to be around $50,000 to $60,000.

'Actual operating was about $85,000 for the shelter,” he said.

After expanding the Lighthouse Center staff and adding The Master's Hand Thrift Store, it cost around $280,000 for operations and payroll.

With the help of the The Master's Hand, sales at the fairground, grant money and donations, the shelter ended the year $43,000 positive. The shelter was able to be self-supported for five months.

Brown said the community was a huge support through the year. He said he has received much support and encouragement.

The shelter was able to get a $35,000 grant from the Iowa Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program, but was rejected by other grant programs.

He said the shelter is not government funded because of restrictions they have in place. Along with the 45-day restriction, people living there must help with chores, and they must be motivated to search for a job or make a change.

He said once he decided the center didn't need that type of funding, it was an opportunity to have a stronger spiritual impact. There is now daily devotions and Bible study.

'Spirit and attitude in the place has improved so much,” he said 'Spirituality is a huge part of life and a huge blessing for helping people change their life.”

In 2021, the largest hurdle is looking for a new store location. Brown said donations come in faster than they can be sold. He has noticed the store is drawing people from other communities such as Muscatine and Iowa City.

Through it all, Brown said the Lighthouse Center turned into a much larger project than he expected. But seeing it impact lives and the community support has been a positive for him.