Lighthouse MI

Lighthouse’s mission is to build equitable communities that alleviate poverty in partnership with and in service to individuals, families, and organizations. Our primary purpose is to meet the basic needs of community members living in poverty and to support and empower them in their journey toward long-term stability. To fulfill this mission, Lighthouse offers a broad range of housing, food assistance, stabilization, and support programs that address emergency needs while also tackling individual and systemic barriers to self-sufficiency. 

Lighthouse of Oakland County and South Oakland Shelter merged in 2019 to provide a stronger response to poverty in our community. In 2023, Lighthouse assumed the management and operations of Royal Oak's Sanctuary, Oakland County’s only runaway and homeless youth program. Lighthouse offers emergency and supportive housing services for runaway youth, pregnant teens, and families, and currently has $150M in developments that will add much needed affordable housing and supportive services in the region.

In 2025, Lighthouse programs accomplished the following: 

• Distributed 31,661 boxes of emergency food to households in need through our food program
• Provided 247 individuals - 176 of them children - with 25,155 nights of emergency shelter, daily meals, and essential services to connect them to housing
• Provided safe shelter and essential services to 110 youth in our Runaway and Homeless Youth programs
• Prevented 23 evictions for 45 individuals 

In 2025, we began construction on 117 units of affordable housing at Lee Plaza in Detroit, a new 54-unit apartment complex, and the redevelopment of 40 units in Pontiac.

Through a holistic, client-centered approach, we move individuals and families from homelessness to housing and from crisis to stability.