Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced this past week that Utah will receive more than $5.1 million to provide shelter and care for homeless families and individuals.

The funding is part of more than $1.4 billion for projects nationwide — the largest total award of federal funds in history to an unprecedented number of local projects.

Jackson said the funding will go directly to those on the front lines who work every day to bring an end to chronic homelessness.

The finding will be distributed in two types of grants — Continuum of Care and Emittance Shelter.

Continuum of Care monies will go to provide permanent and transitional housing to the homeless along with services like job training, health care, mental health counseling, street outreach and assessment programs.

Combined, those grants will fund more than 4,400 local programs in all 50 states — resulting in more than a quarter-million people receiving the housing and services they need to become more self-sufficient.

The Emergency Shelter Grants will be available to convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters and fund drug and alcohol treatment, child care, and homeless prevention and alcohol prevention programs — all aimed at moving the homeless to permanent housing.

West Valley City Housing Authority, Housing Assistance Management Enterprise and Salt Lake County Housing Authority received the biggest grants — more than $700,000 — while around 20 agencies in Utah were awarded money.

According to HUD, research says about 10 percent of all homeless persons are chronically homeless. And that hard-to-serve population uses more than half of all emergency shelter resources.

By shifting the federal emphasis toward meeting the needs of the most vulnerable homeless, HUD expects more resources will be available for those who experience homelessness as a temporary condition.

For more information visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless.