The Sienna Francis House helps give the city's homeless population a place to stay and get their lives on track and the Omaha City Council unanimously approved a permit to rezone the property for an expanded shelter on 16th and Nicholas Streets.
Heritage Services says it will be two shelters under one roof.
"It will house 100 women, up to 100 women and up to 350 men under one roof," Heritage Services President Susan Morris said. "There will be a separate entrance and security for women to enter, they will actually have a separate dining area."
But right now the Siena Francis House does not have enough beds for the homeless so an expansion project has gotten a big push but some are worried about existing problems.
Every night, 100 men sleep on mats at the current facility.
While some are not concerned about the expansion, City Councilman Ben Gray says neighbors in the area want to make sure safety is being addressed.
The new expanded shelter is hoping to open in December of 2019.
"Weapons drawn and things like that bother me and I have seen for myself and so there has to be a better handle on the security aspect of that in order for that to work otherwise I think you're going to have some problems," he said.
The Director of the Siena Francis House would not go on camera, but said they aren't expanding the number of people they served, they are "right-sizing" the current building.
