Local agencies serving the homeless have been awarded a record $1.6 million in federal grants.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awards Continuum of Care grants through a competitive process. They provide permanent and transitional housing as well as job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.

Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler said the latest efforts to count the homeless shows that 1,500 to 2,000 people are identified as homeless in the community.

“You can judge the strength of a community by how it takes care of those in need,” Beutler said. “We can take pride in how our city is responding to those families experiencing homelessness.”

A partnership between CenterPointe Inc. and the City of Lincoln for the Shelter Plus Care project will begin this spring and represents continuing efforts to meet the needs of the chronically homeless.

The program received funding for four units of permanent housing. CenterPointe also will administer a grant of $185,591 to provide 30 units of permanent housing for chronically homeless individuals with serious mental illness or substance abuse disorders.

All other grants received by Lincoln agencies are renewals:

CenterPointe, Inc. — $187,612 for its GlidePATH Transitional Housing Project (22 beds); and $443,273 for its Adult and Youth Residential Program (25 beds).

Lincoln Action Program — $449,539 for LAP’s Supportive Housing Project, which provides leasing assistance for 55 housing units across the city.

Saint Monica’s — $140,456 for the Women in Transition program, which provides transitional housing and services for 13 women and their children.

CEDARS Youth Services — $130,707 for the New Futures project which provides transitional housing for four homeless pregnant and parenting teen-agers and their children.

Catholic Social Services — $93,683 for the Transitions project, which serves seven families.

The total in grants awarded to Nebraska agencies is $4.678 million.

Details on the HUD grants can be found at www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/budget.