Lighting the Way is creating a new model for addressing poverty in Oakland County—expanding access to housing, food, economic opportunity, and supportive services while investing in programs that strengthen communities across the county.
This bold vision of expansion builds on more than 50 years of Lighthouse’s commitment to Oakland County—expanding proven programs, strengthening community partnerships, and creating new opportunities for families to build lasting stability.
Lighthouse’s new campus will include a new Family Emergency Shelter, Social Supermarket, Economic Opportunity Center, Dining Center, Client Amenities, Community Café, improvements to our Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs, and more.
While the Pontiac campus serves as the heart of this vision, the campaign also invests in critical programs across Oakland County, including Lighthouse’s continuum of services for runaway and homeless youth.
Explore the vision below and discover how the $36 million Lighting the Way Campaign is transforming the future for families across Oakland County.
The new Family Emergency Shelter will provide private family accommodations paired with wraparound services that help parents and children move quickly from homelessness to permanent housing.
Lighting the Way will expand Lighthouse’s current emergency shelter capacity from 54 to 159 beds, allowing us to serve approximately 600 people each year with greater privacy, dignity, and support. Together with other community providers, this expansion will increase Oakland County’s total emergency shelter capacity from 172 to 331 beds.
At the heart of Lighthouse’s expanded campus, the Dining Center will feature a commercial kitchen and welcoming gathering space where shelter families can enjoy nutritious meals together. The kitchen will also create meaningful new opportunities for volunteers, congregations, and community groups to prepare and serve meals directly to the families they are supporting.
More than a dining space, it will be a place where conversations begin, relationships are built, and a simple meal becomes an expression of care, community, and hope.
Located on the second floor of the Dining Center, the Family Amenities Center will serve families staying in both Lighthouse’s existing and new family shelters. Designed specifically for children and parents, it will provide age-appropriate spaces for learning, play, creativity, and connection.
Children will have access to a library, art room, and game room, while adults will have dedicated spaces to meet with case workers, plan for the future, access supportive services, and begin the healing process. More than a collection of rooms, the Family Amenities Center will provide families with the space to learn, connect, heal, and begin building a brighter future together.
The Social Supermarket will allow families to choose the groceries they need in a welcoming, market-style environment while connecting with onsite social workers who can help families access additional resources and build long-term stability.
Replacing Lighthouse’s current food pantry with a centralized warehouse and distribution hub will strengthen community partnerships, expand access to healthy food, and help meet the needs of nearly 150,000 Oakland County residents experiencing food insecurity with greater dignity.
The Economic Opportunity Center will serve both Lighthouse clients and the broader community, bringing together onsite social workers and trusted community partners to provide housing resources, employment services, financial coaching, eviction prevention assistance, health referrals, and other essential supports—all under one roof.
The center will also create meaningful opportunities for professionals to share their expertise through volunteer service. Whether helping someone prepare for a job interview, navigate a financial challenge, or access critical resources, volunteers will play an important role in helping individuals and families build a more stable future. By making services easier to access and strengthening connections across the community, the center is expected to serve more than 1,500 people each year.
Open to the public and located within Lighthouse’s headquarters, the Community Café will provide Pontiac with a much-needed gathering place where neighbors, volunteers, supporters, and Lighthouse clients can come together over coffee, fresh food, and conversation. More than a café, it will be a space where relationships are built, ideas are shared, and community grows.
The café will also create hands-on workforce development opportunities, offering job training and employment experience for individuals working toward greater economic independence while helping foster a more connected and vibrant community.
In 2023, Lighthouse assumed operation of Oakland County’s only continuum of services for runaway and homeless youth, ensuring these critical programs remained available for young people with nowhere else to go. Through the Lighting the Way Campaign, Lighthouse will purchase and renovate the Sanctuary building in Royal Oak, creating a permanent home for emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services for youth ages 10–24.
Each year, Lighthouse serves approximately 150 young people experiencing homelessness, many of whom have faced family rejection, domestic violence, or significant physical and mental health challenges. By investing in these programs, we can strengthen outreach efforts, preserve this vital community resource, and help more young people find safety, stability, and hope for the future.
46156 Woodward Avenue
Pontiac, MI 48342
248-920-6000
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church
6805 Bluegrass Drive
Clarkston, MI
Pontiac, MI 48342
248-920-6000 x3300
