WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing $2.8 billion in fresh funding for homeless services organizations across the country.

The funding, announced Monday, will be allocated via competitive bids through HUD’s Continuum of Care Program, the largest source of federal grant support to housing and services programs for people experiencing homelessness.

HUD funds approximately 7,000 homeless services projects annually through the program. Applications for the new round of funding are due to HUD by Sept. 29.

A HUD statement announcing the funding said that existing Continuum of Care participants can “renew existing projects, apply for new projects and to reallocate resources from lower performing projects to better serve people experiencing homelessness.”

The announcement specifies that the new funding will prioritize services for homeless youth and for “survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”

Other priorities in the funding include an emphasis on racial equity and anti-discrimination polices for LGTBQ+ individuals. Access to the Continuum of Care funding will also be expanded to welcome applicants from Native American tribes and internal tribal housing support programs.

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement that the new funding “will help more Americans experiencing homelessness move into homes and access critical supportive services like health care, education, and job training.”

Fudge added that the Biden administration seeks to “prioritize equity in homelessness efforts and the humane treatment of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and the funding announced today will help communities do just that.”

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