OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — "Somebody should do something."
How many times have you noticed a problem and had that thought? It happened for a young woman in Omaha 40 years ago upon seeing a need for affordable housing. But it wasn't a passing thought. She acted on it.
- Mary Lyons-Carmona, then 24 years old, read about Habitat for Humanity in the newspaper. "I thought, somehow, I think this could break the cycle of poverty for people."
- Now a retired college professor, Lyons-Carmona volunteers with the organization she founded, which has grown even larger than her family envisioned.
- Of Lyons-Carmona, Chief Executive Officer Amanda Brewer said, "She used the gifts that she had and got it going. Started what would become a movement, and you almost can't describe it."
Continue reading for the expanded version of the story, as seen on-air.
Sounds, like sawdust, fill the air early on a Saturday morning.
"We're working on some siding and some soffits," volunteer Cathy Tegels explained.
North 50th Avenue is coming along. This neighborhood is a first for Habitat for Humanity Omaha - called Bluestem Prairie, an 85-home development in North Omaha.
A milestone project in a milestone year, which one volunteer knows all about.
"I thought, somehow, I think this could break the cycle of poverty for people," Mary Lyons-Carmona reflected.
She was just 24 years old when she founded Habitat Omaha. She'd read about the organization in the newspaper.
"And that idea, if you have 'faith the size of a mustard seed,' you can do anything," Lyons-Carmona remembered feeling.
Her parents were on board. They even paid for a phone line.
"When we were starting up, (my dad) said, 'I'm gonna help you with this, Mary, because I wanna see something change. I wanna see something change for good in North Omaha.' And I know he's up there thinking, 'Wow, it's much bigger than we ever, ever envisioned,'" Lyons-Carmona shared.
It took a few years to finish that first house on Spencer Street. Skeptics were certain Habitat Omaha couldn't succeed.
"My mom is a very stubborn, very determined person," Tegels said with a smile.
It turned out, Lyons-Carmona's tenacity and clarity of purpose were critical.
"She used the gifts that she had and got it going. Started what would become a movement, and you almost can't describe it," Amanda Brewer, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, said.
Adding, you can feel the movement 40 years later - at Bluestem Prairie and in several neighborhoods.
Volunteering together, Lyons-Carmona, her daughter and grandsons show that humanity - like change - can link generations.