By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Open Door Mission is celebrating the opening of its new Lydia House.
Lydia House provides emergency services and shelter to women and families. Open Door Mission Advancement Director Karen Applegate says the new building has space for 43 families and 72 women.
"Prior to opening this new facility we were turning away I think about a hundred families a month that were looking for shelter or needing some help with rent or other things," Applegate says. "Because of the opening of Lydia House we are not turning away at this point and we're not quite full yet. We're about 80 percent full and so we're very excited about that, that we can help people from the community that need help at this time."
Applegate says there's been a continual rise in need over the past couple of years. Among the services provided to women and families at Lydia House are food assistance, job training, and counseling for addiction.
You can learn more about the new Lydia House at www.opendoormission.org.