LEXINGTON, Neb. – A hefty grant will soon allow a Central Nebraska non-profit to build a homeless shelter in Lexington after several years of turmoil. 

Crossroads Mission Avenue announced on Monday that it received a grant from Federal Home Loan Bank-Topeka’s 2024 Affordable Housing Program, totaling $1,442,800.

A total of 26 project grants totaling $31.3 million were given out by FHLBank for projects in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. 

A news release says the Lexington project will provide 20 units of transitional housing for homeless individuals participating in the Crossroads 4-Phase Recovery program.

Crossroads has been aiming to bring a homeless shelter to Lexington for more than two years, but its previous proposed location was shot down by Lexington boards due to the close proximity to Lexington High School. 

Crossroads officials say over 190 Dawson County residents in need have sought homeless services from the Kearney Mission while this process has been underway, due to no available homeless services in Lexington.

The news release says a capital campaign began in 2022, and raised $320,639.72 to date to bring needed homeless services to the Lexington community.

"It was a game changer. We went into this raising money from the community, but when you're talking upward towards $2 million needed to do a project, you need something to really help move that along," said Crossroads Mission Avenue Executive Director Daniel Buller.

Buller says they wouldn't have been able to move forward without the grant. 

"In our campaign, there were hopes for a grant like this. Actually, this round of funding was more than we had anticipated in our planning process, so it really helps out a lot." said Buller.

The new homeless shelter will move into the current thrift store at 907 W 8th St. in Lexington, which is owned by Crossroads.

It will provide approximately 4,400 square feet for affordable housing units and office space.

Construction will begin this year as soon as Crossroads finds a suitable location to move its thrift store to.