You don’t have to be fully healed to be someone’s lighthouse. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is show up, broken pieces and all.” — Alex RiveraJoseph: Let's start with the origin story. What made you create Lighthouse Youth Project?Alex: [laughs] The short answer? Pure survival instinct that eventually turned into something bigger than me. I aged out of foster care at 18, and the statistics for kids like me—especially queer kids—aren't great. Homelessness, addiction, isolation. I was determined not to be a statistic, but I also knew I hadn't been given many tools.There was this day when I was 23, sitting in my first apartment that actually felt safe, and I realized I'd spent my whole life searching for a lighthouse—some sign that I could navigate safely to shore. That's when the idea hit me: what if I could be that for someone else? Not because I had all the answers, but precisely because I didn't. Because I was still figuring it out myself.JT: You've built a program that's about so much more than just "helping youth." It's about identity, belonging, mental health. Can you talk about that holistic approach?Alex: We live in a culture obsessed with fixing problems rather than understanding people. When I was in the system, everyone wanted to "fix" my behaviour, my sexuality, my trauma responses—without ever addressing the underlying realities of what I was experiencing.At Lighthouse, we start with the assumption that these young people aren't problems to be solved. They're complex humans navigating impossible circumstances with whatever tools they have. Our job isn't to "save" them; it's to walk alongside them, to help them find and trust their own internal compass.Identity is central to this work. When you're young and queer and system-involved, you're often made to feel like every aspect of your existence is problematic. Your queerness is "confusing" adults. Your trauma responses are "disruptive." Your need for authenticity is "attention-seeking."We create spaces where their identities aren't just tolerated but celebrated. Where they can explore who they are without judgment. Where they can try on different versions of themselves and find what feels like home.JT: The program pairs LGBTQ+ youth with mentors who've had similar experiences. Why was that model important to you?Alex: Because representation isn't just about seeing yourself reflected in media or at Pride parades—though that matters. It's about having someone look you in the eye and say, "I get it. I've been where you are, and look—I'm still here." That's powerful beyond words.When I was sixteen and newly placed with my fifth foster family, I had this social worker—a lesbian woman in her forties who'd been through the system herself. She never sugar-coated anything, but she'd slip me books with queer characters and text me on holidays. Just knowing she existed made me feel less alien.That's what our mentors do. They don't have magic solutions, but they have survival stories. And sometimes that's exactly what these kids need—proof that survival is possible.JT: You talk openly about mental health being central to your work. Why is that especially important for LGBTQ+ youth?Lighthouse was never about having the answers. It was about creating what I needed when I was younger—a place where you could show up messy, confused, hurting, and still be met with love. I didn’t build it because I was healed. I built it because I wasn’t—and I knew I wasn’t the only one.”
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