By Sara Ganus Business Writer After working in real estate, mortgage brokering and the restaurant business, to name a few, business entrepreneurs and brothers Winston and Miles K. Lewis decided about a year ago to do something that hits close to home. It had been about seven years since their younger 28-year-old brother, Justin Lewis, died of an accidental drug overdose on March 7, 1999, just two weeks after he was discharged from a drug treatment center. They had never stopped asking questions. "First of all, why did our brother accidentally overdose two weeks after having been discharged from another drug and alcohol treatment facility? What mistakes could be learned from our experience?” Winston Lewis said. "Then we began to ask ourselves questions involving adolescents.” Those questions, along with available property that Winston Lewis once had helped his mother manage as an elder residential care home, materialized into a 12-month research project and the creation of Justin's Lighthouse, a male adolescent residential leadership academy that would defy the traditional, institutional recovery model. Last week the four-bedroom, two-bath, 3,400-square-foot home on a three-acre plot in northwest Oklahoma City, admitted its first resident. Dedicated to their brother's memory, Justin's Lighthouse will be able to care for up to 12 male residents ages 12 to 17 who exhibit maladaptive adolescent behavior, lack of cognitive skills or low self-esteem through a 12-step, 120-day, trauma-informed — or "sanctuary model” — program. From 7 a.m. to sometimes past 8 p.m., residents will participate in community meetings, meditations, and recreational activities; listen to inspirational speakers; and learn how to become a leader, Winston Lewis said. "We don't want them to just be compliant in attending a 12-step support group meeting,” he said. "We want them to learn how to lead the group. We really wanted to take those skills and give back to the community. That's a hugely important aspect of our program.” Katie Henson, the facility's program director, said that leadership component and the program's freedom attracted her to Justin's Lighthouse. "We have the flexibility of starting from the ground up,” Henson said. The Lewises hope to eventually open a similar residential leadership academy for adolescent women, a charter school and provide scholarships and housing grants through a nonprofit foundation they created called the Lighthouse Foundation. For more information about Justin's Lighthouse, visit www.justinslighthouse.com.