Lighthouse Ministries

Faith-based finalists: It’s a place to come and “die” | Suzanne Haberman

LAKELAND, Fla.—From what he calls his "summer home," Paul Price watched the Fourth of July fireworks crackling above the Lakeland baseball stadium. The next day, sitting in the chapel of Lighthouse Ministries, he declined to say exactly where he sleeps, but it's somewhere on the streets. A year after completing a three-year prison sentence for "jumping a deputy sheriff," he hasn't returned to his once-successful car dealership, his home, or his now 20-year-old son.

At age 60, when many men think of retirement, Price won't accept help because he is absorbing what he calls the "full benefit" of the consequences of his drug addiction. "Holidays are for family," he said, his eyes drooping as he gazed out the window. He came to the men's emergency shelter for church fellowship, a pizza dinner, and some TV. Lighthouse Ministries was also offering a chance to rehabilitate his life through its One Stop Care Program, but Price, at the moment, didn't think he needed it.