An Omaha nonprofit is bringing change to neighborhoods through beacons of light

One Omaha nonprofit is looking to explain its "lighthouse" program across Omaha neighborhoods. Their goal is to bring beacons of light to every local community.

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Abide’s Omaha lighthouse program turns renovated homes into neighborhood advocates

OMAHA, Neb. —

One Omaha nonprofit is looking to explain its “lighthouse” program across Omaha neighborhoods. Their goal is to bring beacons of light to every local community.

“Simple interactions that we have and the opportunities that we have to pause and interact with our neighbors in just extremely intentional ways,” Kylie Minturn, Abide Lighthouse leader, said.

Abide Omaha is the local nonprofit behind these metaphorical lighthouses.

“A lighthouse is essentially a home in one of our adopted neighborhood zones that, through volunteers, through donated materials, through resources, we purchase a home, we renovate it, and then we put a family into that home that really becomes the neighborhood advocate,” Abide CEO Josh Dotzler said.

Abide said the homes serve as a bridge for the community.

“So many of our lighthouse leaders truly are being the hands and feet in their community, from things like interpreting for non-English-speaking families in the community to getting involved with the children’s schools to kind of act as that kind of liaison,” Minturn said.

Abide started the neighborhood strategy in 2007, and built its first lighthouse just two years later in 2009.

“Volunteers are helping with neighborhood beautification. There’s community block parties. There’s access to resources on campus where people are having opportunities that they otherwise didn’t have,” Dotzler said.

They said these homes create an ongoing strategy of networks and communities within Omaha.

“When you take a home, and you renovate it, and you start to clean up that neighborhood, statistics show that a cleaner neighborhood is a safer neighborhood,” Dotzler said.

The program also helps give people access to the health and wellness programs on the Better Together Campus.

“You start to connect neighbors to community where there’s social capital. They get access to jobs and other resources that they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Dotzler said.

Abide said they currently have 68 lighthouses in neighborhoods across the city. The goal is to get to 100 lighthouses in the next year and a half.

A team of five businessmen will start their climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in October, their goal is to each raise enough money to build another lighthouse in an Omaha neighborhood.

“It’s about 52,000 steps to get to the top. It’s probably going to be a few more, but for 52,000 steps, every step is worth about a $3 investment,” Dotzler said.

You can click the link here to donate to help Doltzer and the team hit their goal.

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