Lincoln Lighthouse serves as beacon for children, families

The Lighthouse Counseling and Family Resource Center is about to embark on a new chapter in its 10-year history."I'm pretty amazed at how far we've come in Lincoln," said Teresa Rasor, executive director of the program.Lighthouse started in 1996 with offices on the Lincoln High School campus.FYIWhat: Lighthouse Counseling and Family Resource CenterWhere: 1125 Ninth St. (and 1539 Third St., suite 111 after Feb. 11)Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through ThursdaysPhone: (916) 434-3700Three years later, the program moved into offices at 630 Sixth St. Last fall, Lighthouse moved into temporary offices on Ninth Street behind Phoenix Continuation High School.That move was needed because the site on Sixth Street is destined to become part of the joint Lincoln City Hall/Western Placer Unified School district administrative offices.And now, the program is readying for a move to its new offices in the Lincoln Professional Center, 1530 Third St., suite 111."This is a great location," Rasor said, while walking through the spacious new office on Third Street. "It's close to schools. A lot of our clients already go here for doctors."The office also is very visible. Rasor added some of the Lighthouse clients had a difficult time locating the temporary offices.And, the new office has plenty of parking in a paved lot.Rasor said the parking lot at the temporary facility becomes bogged down with mud during rainy weather.Rasor can't wait to move into the new office. Staff gradually will begin moving Feb. 11.Rasor said staff will utilize both sites in the beginning.In fact, she said they hope to have a Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony in March and an open house in April.One of the reasons Lighthouse is making the move is because of what it will be able to again offer, Lighthouse board member Scott Leaman noted about a couple county programs.Because the Ninth Street site is on WPUSD property, Placer County was unable to offer public health services and the Women Infant and Children (WIC) program was not able operate at the site, Rasor said.Now, both will be able to offer their services at the new facility. Rasor noted there will be one room specifically for WIC, which services 400 to 500 families a month.There also will be a separate room for the county's public health program."It will be a fully equipped medical examination room," Rasor said.Community groups, businesses and individuals have stepped forward to provide services, furniture and more. Julie Gilmore, a Lincoln art consultant, is giving Lighthouse two framed Monet prints to hang in the lobby. The move to new offices is just one of the exciting things happening to Lighthouse.As the Lincoln community has grown, so have the needs for the services the Lighthouse provides, Rasor said in a press release.In order to sustain the counseling programs and expand family services, WPUSD, city and county officials and local business and community leaders agreed to support a reorganization of the Lighthouse to a nonprofit status.An element of the Lighthouse and its nonprofit status is that the board of directors is comprised of leaders in the community, Leaman said.And the new status will allow the center to expand its services by obtaining federal, state and local grants.Leaman, who is also an assistant superintendent in the WPUSD, said some people are hesitant to support a program like the Lighthouse when it is located on school property.Moving it off school property allows for more donations to come through. Quite a few funding sources already have come forward, Rasor noted, included Kaiser Permanente, the United Auburn Indian Community, Joanne Neft, Charlie Joiner, Richland Communities, the Lincoln Chamber, the Eli Broad Foundation, Lincoln Community Foundation and Placer County. The Lincoln City Council also has been very supportive, as well as WPUSD Superin-tendent Roger Yohe and Leaman, Rasor added.The Lighthouse services all levels of families living throughout WPUSD."It's not just for people who are poor," Rasor said. "We don't turn any one away."During Fiscal Year 2004-05, the Lighthouse took 7,925 referrals.From July to December, there were 4,884 referrals."Those numbers reflect the number of individuals and families served at the Lighthouse in all referrals and areas of services/programs," Rasor said. "These are clients we serve directly and also include clients who we made referrals for other services or resources." Counseling services for families, children and couples are provided by graduate students from California State University, Sacramento.Counselors see clients both at the office and at school sites in WPUSD.Counseling services were utilized by a number of students at Lincoln High School after one of their classmates either fell or jumped off the city's abandoned water tower, Rasor noted."There was a lot of depression and suicidal talk," she said.Once it gets settled into its new home, the Family Resource Center will become a one-stop shop for families providing counseling services, parenting groups, bilingual services, a health clinic, Women Infant Children services and financial and legal referrals, Rasor said, along with medical referrals.Because the Lighthouse is a nonprofit organization, Rasor added it always is looking for donations and volunteers. People interested in helping can contact Rasor at (916) 434-3700.- Richard Myers can be reached at richardm@goldcountrymedia.com.