The Open Door Mission broke ground Thursday morning on its new Lydia House for women and children. The new building will be just north of the current men’s facility near Eppley Airfield.

The need for emergency shelters in Omaha continues to grow. Every night the Lydia House turns away 140 families and 90 single women simply because there isn't enough room. The new Lydia House will have room for 300 people.

Open Door Mission president Candace Gregory says this is just the first phase of the multi-million dollar project. "We each night sleep between 150-180 men on the floor on mats,” Gregory says. “We want to give them respect and dignity. So, we're actually going to renovate our men's center and bring those men up off the floor and into a bed."

The Mission still needs to raise another $3 million to complete the project.