"It is the aim of the Lighthouse Foundation to seek to restore people in the community to a position of wholeness".

The Lighthouse Foundation is a department of Church @ The Foundry, Widnes, and was established in 1997.  Currently a five bed supported drugs housing centre, it is situated in the Foundry Village and is dedicated to improving the welfare of those who are suffering the effects of drug abuse within our community.

Thank you for taking time to look at our website, I hope you found it both exciting and resourceful.
Let me share our journey with Lighthouse so far.

Being personally involved with drugs from the age of 12, I experienced the pain that substance misuse causes not only to an individual, but also to the people they love.  I was 27 when I first broke free from my addiction to drugs and alcohol.

In 1995 I was locked into a life drug abuse on a daily basis, drinking heavily and using a whole cocktail of drugs which led to a cocaine dependency.  I was losing things very dear to me, like my wife and my home.  My life was in so much pain, emptiness and despair.  I had come to the conclusion that the only way out was suicide.  This was going to happen in January because I could not live with the turmoil of my addiction.  My emotions and my thinking were wrong and my heart was in distress because I gotten myself get into this place and couldn’t stop or escape on my own.

It was January 28th, late at night, and on the brink of self destruction that I cried out to God and He heard me.  After such a life changing experience I've never looked back because of the second chance I have received.  Maxine and I have dedicated our lives to serving others who find themselves in the place where I was once.

The Lighthouse Foundation was born out of a desire to reach people in our community who are suffering the effects of substance misuse.  In 1997 we began by taking our soup kitchen van out on to the streets in Widnes.  Within weeks we found homelessness and drug addiction was a bigger problem than we ever thought.  We soon began working with many young adults seeking to access them into support services and rehabilitation centres across the UK.

By 1999 we had moved into our coffee shop in the local town centre and our work continued where we had the privilege of sending many young men and some young women away for help and support in their addictions, while also supporting their families here at the foundation.

2001 was a very exciting time for us as we developed our supported drugs housing unit, “The Lighthouse” and embarked on our drug education programme. Having supported many young people in their difficult times we found it was very hard for them to break free from their addiction while in the environment of the drug culture.  The pull of the drugs and the lifestyle was very strong in their lives.

So we made the decision to create a safe environment where hurting young people could address the issues surrounding their drug addiction, and a place where they could have some time to start the recovery process.

We started utilising our experiences to promote the dangers of drug use and addictions in local schools.  Through this we have reached thousands of young people in our area and been able to share with them, through powerful and relevant education, the message of the dangers of drug use.  We also work closely with other agencies in the fight against drug addiction.

Our vision for the future is to develop a female/family supported drugs housing centre.  This will be a place where woman and their children will be able to come and seek support while addressing any problems with substance misuse.

If this has sparked a desire in your heart to be a partner or supporter - please feel free to contact me, Dave Tierney, at The Lighthouse

God bless you,

Dave Tierney
Director, The Lighthouse Foundation