Past Rescue Mission Guest & Current Thrift Shopper

Pamela Fisher was living a nightmare. Her husband of 15 years had become so abusive and paranoid, thanks to his extensive drug use, that she could barely move without accusations. In 1997, she developed an elaborate plan to rescue herself and her kids from him. Though the plan worked, it left her with nothing to start a new life with. Leaving her home with just her kds and her car, she traveled from Orlando to Lakeland before she ran out of gas in the parking lot of the Grove Park Publix.

With no money and no shelter, Pamela took her kids from the car and walked to Lighthouse Ministries. At the time, the ministry was run out of the current men’s center. There was a small room available for women and children to stay, and they wrere able to spend the night in bunk beds together. The next morning, she was able to get gas for her car with $5 given to her by a staff member. Panela and her kids ended up staying at Lighthouse until they were placed in a shelter for battered families, during which time there were able to find stability and strength without the fear of abuse or retribution.

Even after she left Lighthouse, she stayed plugged in with the ministry, regularly using the HOPE Center to help the family survive. Pamela received food boxes, financial support, and encouragement from the managers of the program. She eventualy got her own apartment with her kids, and she saw them each flourish in their own ways.

Pamela decided to go back to school to get a degree in social work. She now ministers to addicts and the homeless through the Kinship Partners Program. She provides support for caregivers raising their grandchildren – a task she is familiar with. She is raising her own grandson, an energetic 3-year-old who needed a guardian after his father was sent to prison. She has also remarried to a kind man and lives in Hillsborough County.

Panela is still actively involved in the ministry at Lighthouse. She’s on a first name basis with the manager of the Family Stores in Brandon and Plant City. She shops on a weekly basis at each of the stores, but she’s not just in search of good deals. She appreciates the support and prayer she receives at the stores, and she loves supporting the ministry that helped her get back on her feet so many years ago.

“I love Lighthouse Ministries, and I love what they’re doing. I’ve been in the ministry, and I’ve been bound, and I’ve been on the run. If God did it for me, He can do it for you.”