The Lighthouse of Houston

In the 1940s, the Lighthouse began producing pot holders, pillow cases, aprons, rag dolls, brooms, mops, woven rugs and bath mats.

At that time, the building housed a training center, home economics room, cafeteria, occupational therapy, a pre-school nursery, vending stand and the workshop.

It negotiated a long-term lease with the city of Houston for the land at 3602 West Dallas and built a new children's building, library and gym there.

It discontinued door-to-door sales, began training in medical transcription and clerical skills, and expanded its facility to include a Rehabilitation Center.

The Lighthouse Industrial Division began manufacturing pine oil disinfectant and cleaner detergent, which it sells to the federal government under the Javits–Wagner–O'Day Act.

It opened the Community Services Center-Southwest and a second Multi-Care Center, and began a Diabetic Education Program, licensed by the State of Texas as a home healthcare provider.

Medical transcription contracts expanded, and the Lighthouse began providing switchboard operators for the Houston Chronicle and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach, California, and mail processing services for the Internal Revenue Service in Houston and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The new millennium saw Lighthouse begin working with blinded veterans from the Gulf War, providing services to more than 400 servicemen in the decade that followed.

In 2005, Lighthouse President Gibson DuTerroil was elected chairman of the board of TIBH, a private, nonprofit corporation that helps provide employment for Texans with blindness and other disabilities.

Three years later, TIBH named an annual award for an outstanding worker with a disability for Artie Lee Hinds, former chair of the Lighthouse Board of Directors.

[1] During this period, the Lighthouse Diabetes Education Services Program was recognized by the American Diabetes Association for Quality Self-Management Education; three acres of land in Cut and Shoot, Texas, were donated to store the detergent produced by its Industrial Division; an innovative training was held on the use of GPS with guide dogs;[2] and Reflections – Houston's first art show and reception featuring an exhibit of watercolors by artists who were blind or visually impaired – received citywide attention.

The Telecommunications course is designed to prepare a student with the basic office experience or training needed to perform the job duties of a switchboard operator or receptionist.

A minimum typing speed of 50 words per minute and post-high school level spelling and grammar are required to begin the program.

Infant, Youth and Child programs provide opportunities for children and their families to interact and have fun while learning new skills.

The Lighthouse Living Centers are HUD 202 subsidized apartments for people who are blind, visually impaired or physically disabled.

The Reflections store offers adaptive aids such as talking clocks, Braille watches, mobility canes, computer hardware and software as well as hundreds of other items.