Executive Director Reflects on First 5 Years
A Note from Wes Tillett, LUM Executive Director
That’s me (left) moving into my office at LUM on April 1, 2020. It was stay home, stay safe due to COVID. What a wild time to get started! But those challenging times helped me see even more the resilience of LUM. COVID demanded constant adaptation, and shifting economic and political landscapes have continued to shape how we serve. Today, LUM continues to evolve to better meet the needs of our neighbors.
Throughout these five years, I have witnessed the steady heartbeat of love within LUM’s donors, volunteers, staff, and community partners. People truly want to help their neighbors in need. In pursuit of our goal to be a lifeline of help & hope, LUM has enhanced and expanded programs, improved infrastructure and internal systems, and taken significant steps towards sustainability. LUM now has more member churches, more volunteers, more donors, more community partners, and more generations of people pulling together to do this good work. And that is a timely thing, for the need in this community for the services LUM provides is greater than ever before.
I am grateful for God’s guidance and grace in the past five years. I am eager to see how God blesses LUM in the next five years, and beyond.
Wesley Tillett, Executive Director, Lafayette Urban Ministry
In his first five years as LUM executive director, Wes Tillett—partnered with a talented staff, dedicated board of directors, and hundreds of volunteers and supporters—has guided the ministry with vision, compassion, and leadership through major facility upgrades, milestone celebrations, and a renewed strategic vision. LUM has expanded shelter capacity, modernized its brand, marked historic anniversaries, and set a bold course for the future—meeting immediate needs while building long-term strength for the community. And the best is yet to come.