The state has received about $8 million in federal funds for homelessness services statewide.

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant, which is an annual appropriation, will go to everything from homeless shelters and job training to healthcare and mental-health counseling.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the grants will "offer a critical lifeline to those persons and families who, after a foreclosure or job loss, might otherwise be faced with homelessness."

She noted that the funds are separate from the recently passed stimulus package, which will funnel millions more into homelessness programs around the country.

The Hawai'i homelessness grants are part of about $1.6 billion in grants issued nationwide.