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Beacon Newsletter - Winter 2008
"I've always been a helper.
It's so hard for me to accept help", Mr. C
We hear this repeatedly in our office. Mr. C, a 63 year old Vietnam veteran from Johnsonville, arrived at Lighthouse Ministries in a wheelchair. He is struggling to keep up the mortgage payments on a small home, but an unexpected reduction in his disability income caused him to fall behind on his power bill. His cupboard was bare, too, as he receives only $14 a month in food stamps. Lighthouse Ministries helped to bring his power bill current, but when the Participant Advocate also gave him two bags of canned goods from pantry donations, he broke into tears and sobbed for twenty minutes. He said that he has trouble accepting help as he has spent his whole life being a soldier, a youth leader and a church volunteer.
With today’s economy, we hear similar stories often: retired people on fixed incomes, families with children where one or maybe both parents have lost jobs, people dealing with unexpected illness, or those who may have just gotten by on a limited income that are now faced with asking for help.
Lighthouse Ministries mission is to be “a source of light in times of darkness” for those facing a crisis in their life. Our Participant Advocates are sensitive to more than a person’s financial needs. They help to keep the light shining by listening to the needs of the heart. Mr. C. needed a friend who could comfort him the day he came to Lighthouse Ministries for assistance and he found one.