One woman's efforts to help her community receive streetlights have paid off.

“It was a need for the community, well we need streetlights,” Lydia Maldonado, a lifelong resident of San Carlos, said.

Maldonado spent years advocating for the people in her small area. She and her daughter – Gloria Maldonado – collected signatures of residents wanting streetlights. Those signatures were then sent to Hidalgo County Precinct Four Commissioner Ellie Torres.

After receiving the signatures, the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court received a grant to help pay for the streetlights.

Within the San Carlos community, 16 new lights were installed because of the grant.

“It’s something that really benefits us,” Maldonado said. “…There used to be a lot of burglaries, now they went down a little bit since we have light."

Each property owner will pay anywhere from $18 to $50 to help pay for the electricity.