Butler County agencies will receive four federal grants totaling more than $535,000 to help the homeless.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a federal grant program that supports projects involving homelessness was renewed for those who traditionally apply for the grant each year.

On Tuesday, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials announced the release of $108.6 million for 445 homeless housing and service programs in Pennsylvania.

The county’s Human Services Department received three of the grants.

Allyson Rose, the department’s community housing development coordinator, said while the county normally receives the grants, it must apply and wait to hear whether it has received them.

Because of the pandemic and its affect on homelessness, HUD decided to renew the grants for agencies that received them last year.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Wednesday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.