CHA--Homeless Final Draft

Lighthouse is a homeless shelter
to mothers and children.
Kay Moyers
Director
In May of 2015 I was reading the local paper, the article stated that the Lighthouse was very close to having
to close the doors because there was very little donations coming in. I told my husband, Boby that we needed to
do something and he said that he could cut the grass since he had a lawn care business. I had retired at the end of
the school year, so I started to volunteer at the Lighthouse. At that time Melanie Stinson had taken over as director
and began to get the home stabilized. Thanksgiving weekend there was a fire in one of the bedroom wings. The
clints at that time were moved to a hotel and later to housing. There was a great outpouring of support from the
community at that time, and the building was repaired and refurbished. We reopened in March of 2016. Before
the fire Melanie and her husband took a vacation and I filled in for her. A while after she returned, she asked me if
I would be interested in the job as director, I said no that I had just retired but my husband and I would pray about
it. After abut two weeks of pray, I knew God was directing me here. In December of 2015 I took over as director.
Was I ever out of my comfort Zone!
We have faced many challenges, one of the biggest is the funds to keep the place running. It takes about
seven to nine thousand dollars a month to keep the place running when we are full, and we are full most of the
time. I have seen the homeless population explode in the five years I have been here. One age group that I have
seen rise is women between late 40’s and early 60’s, these women’s children are grown and there are not as many
resources for this age group. Another group are people with emotional issues, they come from backgrounds of
abuse and neglect and need to help to get stable.
We focus on women with children, but take some single women if space allows. One week I turned down
25 different people because I didn’t have room. The average I turn away is about seven a week. I get calls from
men too. Mayfield needs another shelter for single women. They have differend needs than women with children.
Finding funding is the big challenge, I know of a building if we had the money to buy and operate it.
Our goal for each lady is to help them learn to be self-sufficient. If that means getting their GED, we help
them get signed up for classes, getting jobs, parenting classes, money management,
spiritual growth. My moto is, without God and a job, you don’t have a future.
Without the goodwill and support of our community, we could not keep the
doors open and a log of hurting people would not be helped. Kay Moyers
Carrie Taylor (on left). She is house manager and will mainly focus on
case management. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Murray State
University. Carrie looks forward to serving needy families in Mayfield and the
surrounding region.
Kay Moyers served until April 30, 2020 and was replaced by Jody O’Neil.
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