OMAHA - The ceremonial ribbon has been cut and now the transition begins for the metro’s largest homeless shelter, the Siena Francis House.

It cost more than $14.5 million. It has 450 beds, 350 for men, and 100 for women. The new kitchen will serve guests in a large dining hall along with more spacious washrooms and laundry facilities.Staff is getting to work moving the shelter’s guests from the old facility to the new one next door.

The new building also makes room for gathering areas and counseling offices.

The Executive Director says the goal is to provide the homeless with a path forward.

"This allows us to focus services, to give everyone a bed every night to stop moving around on mats and operating in overflow but to really focus on the people that come to us with housing plan. Everyone who comes through the door will be working on leaving as soon as possible,” said Linda Twomey.

The number of people accessing the Siena Francis House is expected to stay the same. The difference being the new facility will be able to accommodate the demand.

 

But all that is new does not shed that of the past. An incident here last summer led to police shooting a man with a knife outside Siena Francis House.

And while it put some people on edge, those living in the nearby neighborhood seem to be welcoming the new facility.

"It's not a concern for me, it's pretty safe. It's a safe environment, and I like it around here," said Darius Jimerson.

Twomey said the new building was designed with safety and security as a focus.

"We believe this building is going to provide a very safe accommodation for the people we serve our staff and the members of the community," said Twomey. "It has many security features our old building did not have like locks and access to control the movements of individuals as well as panic alarms, and security cameras and things like that."

The City of Omaha is putting $2.5 million into the facility, the rest of the funding comes through private donations.