Preston’s Story

“Unresolved trauma and pain from childhood physical and sexual abuse led me into decades of drug and alcohol abuse as a way to numb the pain.

It started innocently with drinking and marijuana in my teens, but escalated to harder drugs like cocaine, crack, and methamphetamines after high school. Addiction consumed me completely, leaving me homeless, isolated, and disconnected from my family. Basic needs became irrelevant as my sole focus was chasing my next high, a cycle I stayed trapped in for over 40 years.

Rock bottom finally came after multiple arrests, but it was at the Lighthouse where I found hope. Here, surrounded by faith and support, I reconnected with God, surrendered my selfish ways, and began rebuilding my identity and my life. The Lighthouse provided the structure and community I needed to achieve five years of sobriety—a milestone I hadn’t reached since I was fifteen.

Today, I’m not only sober but also giving back at the Lighthouse, where I’ve taken on leadership roles. It’s my way of showing others who struggle with addiction that change is possible and there’s always hope for a brighter future. Every day at the Lighthouse serves as a reminder of how far God has brought me, and the gratitude I have for this second chance at life.”

Andrew’s Story

“My journey with addiction started in college, where I followed my girlfriend into drugs. She had been keeping heroin in the fridge, and once I tried it, I fell in love with it and threw everything else away. My life spiraled—shooting up heroin and meth, dropping out of college, and eventually living on the streets.

After four years of heavy addiction, I was in Phoenix, using more than ever. I was hurt, out of my mind, and in the hospital when I realized something had to change. In 2018, I went to rehab in Colorado. I quit heroin but fell back into meth. Three more years of addiction and homelessness followed before I was sentenced to prison.

While in prison, I applied to the Lighthouse program, and something about it felt right. When I arrived, the community, staff, and administration were the reasons I succeeded. At one point, I felt my wheels starting to spin, thought about giving up, revoking parole and returning to prison. I was scared of the reality of sober life. The support from Lighthouse gave me the strength to see it through and wait it out, and eventually, I flourished. The main group of guys I was with was so great – I love every one of them. The 14 months I spent at Lighthouse really solidified my ability to stay sober and remain confident in my sobriety. 

Today, I’ve been clean for over three years. I’ve learned to brush off temptation and lean on my relationship with God. The lessons I learned—from classes, residents, and staff—now help me in my current career working with the homeless. I’m proud to be a part of others’ recovery journeys, just as Lighthouse was part of mine.”

Michael’s Story

When Michael Winsor reflects on his journey from addiction to recovery, his memories stretch back to childhood. “My dad left when I was 8. No one really knows why. He was kind, never abusive. We saw him on weekends,” he recalls. Growing up with a single mother working hard to pay the mortgage and caring for an older sister who was mentally handicapped left Michael feeling overlooked. “I felt abandoned—no attention, emotional neglect—left to my own devices,” he says.

By age 13, substance use had already become part of his life. “By 13, I was smoking pot, drinking, and self-harming. I showed signs of depression, anxiety, and low self-worth. That became normal for me. I thought if I could just keep what I was doing under the radar and not make it someone else’s problem, I could get away with drinking and using.”

High school brought more dangerous choices. “In high school, I got into cocaine. By my 20s, I was homeless for the first time, smoking meth, hanging out with people going nowhere. I told myself, ‘This is life. I’ll just push through somehow.’ That mindset required drugs and alcohol to keep going—and yet, they were also the only thing that kept me going emotionally. It was like unbeatable hopelessness.”

Hoping to escape toxic family relationships, Michael moved to Colorado. “After a short stay in my uncle’s basement, I ended up homeless again, working full time while trying to survive winter in my truck,” he says. “Eventually I found a trailer, convincing myself I was a ‘functional drug addict’—telling myself I was fine because I wasn’t shooting up. After a long process of quitting meth, I was left with a heavy drinking dependency.”

His first stay at Lighthouse marked a turning point, though he wasn’t yet ready for lasting change. “I came to Lighthouse the first time after being evicted. I relapsed within six weeks—still didn’t fully understand that my drinking was a problem. That first year at Lighthouse was the most sober time I’d had since my teens, but I wasn’t making changes. I just wanted time sober so I could get back to life as I saw it.”

The following two years brought a dramatic decline. “I became completely dependent on alcohol, ending up in the ER because I wasn’t eating for days and was shaking uncontrollably. In just ten months, I landed in the ER seven or eight times.”

“The final time, I was behind on rent and had to move out of my room,” Michael remembers. “I went back to my uncle and aunt’s basement, still drinking heavily, maxed out my credit card, and ran out of money. Finally, they told me, ‘We don’t want you to die in our basement, and we’re taking you to detox—and after that, you’re on your own.’”

Returning to Lighthouse with a new mindset, he discovered something different. “You know in freeze tag when the tree is home base? That’s how Lighthouse felt—like, ahhh—relief. I feel safe. It was familiar, full of people I cared about. I already knew all the staff—they were a dream team.”

Michael began rebuilding his life piece by piece. “I started to engage with my heart space. I remember asking my therapist, ‘Why am I so happy?” I have no money, I almost died, and I’m consistently happy.’ She said, ‘You’re supposed to be that way.’ I thought—so that’s God? That’s what God’s love feels like?”

Through meditation, exercise, prayer, therapy, and improved relationships, he has not only maintained sobriety but now helps others as a Peer Support at Lighthouse. “I used to count pennies in my truck to buy rubbing alcohol to stop the shakes. Now, it feels like a dream that happened to somebody else. I’m not that person anymore.” His advice is simple but heartfelt: “Self-care is huge. Start small. Change yourself before you complain about circumstances. Talk to a therapist. If you take one step, God takes two. If you’re still breathing, you’re not done. Everyone needs a place to start—and Lighthouse is a good place to start.”

James’s Story

I grew up the class clown, always in trouble in school. Around 19, I started drinking and doing drugs, never having any thought about the future. Nobody told me, “This is your life. What are you doing to make sure you have a place to live when you’re 31?” Always worried about how to pay for drugs and hotel stays, if I had a couple hundred bucks in my pocket, I was doing well. I thought people in that lifestyle needed me, and that made it hard to leave.

At 38, I accepted a plea deal for an 18-year prison sentence. I grew a lot during 8 years of incarceration. I joined a brutal rehab program, unpacking my deepest struggles. For 3 years, I fought approximately 16 fires and did fire mitigation as part of Colorado’s State Wildland Inmate Fire Team, and began to build a long-distance relationship with my kids.

Paroling to Lighthouse took a huge weight off. It was a place for me to put obstacles between myself and drugs—meetings, chores, accountability. The staff and the community were awesome. Even with accountability, I had to choose to be my own parole officer, my own sponsor, making sure I never slipped back. My advice to people getting out of prison: put something in front of you that you absolutely have to take care of.

For me, that’s my family: there’s nothing more fulfilling than raising daughters. It gives me the purpose that I needed. They’ll never meet the person I used to be. Three years out of prison, I’m building a stable lifestyle where these kids always come first, and I’m grateful for the chance Lighthouse gave me to make that happen.

Cody’s Story

Fear surrounded me. Sure failure ahead of me. Life’s perfect storm was brewing to challenge me and I was all alone. I was getting out of prison with no money, no food, no family in the state and most importantly no support on the path to sobriety. But there was suddenly a light of hope. A beacon reaching out from the shore. It was the Lighthouse. They took me in with all my broken pieces and with all my pain and they said, “We will love you for who you are.”

I am now 3 years clean and sober with the strength to carry me through another 3. I have learned giving a part of myself to my community, my family and to others struggling in their addiction is my calling to true purpose in life. I do not just exist anymore. I have true purpose. So I scream it with true admiration to those who helped me……. I am here! I am here! I am here because of the Lighthouse!

I moved out of the house at age 16 to escape a dysfunctional home, but didn’t realize I was trading one type of dysfunction for another.  Then at age 17 I enlisted in the army, and served during Operation Enduring Freedom.  I saw things no human should ever see, and my drinking got out of control. 

I was using alcohol to numb my pain, and despite my efforts to stop it the drinking continued for 11 more years.  I tried several rehabs and sober livings, but never maintained my sobriety after I left.  I was drinking a large bottle of hard liquor every day, was always hungover, and had lost control.  I had to have a pint of liquor on the nightstand so that I could handle the mornings before the liquor store opened. 

During the winter of 2023 I hit rock bottom with 3 hospital trips in one month due to liver failure and jaundice from drinking.  On the inside I was overwhelmed with guilt for things I had done in the military, for poor decisions I made, and for hurting people.  With suicide on my mind, I played a dangerous game of Russian roulette with 2 bullets in my 44 magnum revolver more than once.  There’s no reason other than God that I am not dead right now.

After checking in to a detox in Denver I was given a brochure that introduced me to Lighthouse, and the rest is history.  At Lighthouse, I found the support I desperately needed and discovered that God is real.  The understanding and non-judgmental environment at Lighthouse has allowed me to confront my past, rebuild my self-confidence, and find purpose in helping others. I am now 6 months sober, and have enrolled in college, pursuing my passion for wildlife management with a newfound hope and direction. Without Lighthouse, I wouldn’t be here today.  Lighthouse literally saved my life.