Earlier this week, President Bush and Secretary Martinez came together to announce the largest amount of assistance ever awarded for homeless programs in the nation. Speaking at SOME, So Others Might Eat - a community-based, non-profit organization in Washington, D.C. that provides meals, housing and other services to the homeless - Secretary Martinez said:

"Millions of American families will meet in their homes for their Thanksgiving meal. Thousands will come together in the warmth and safety of dining centers like this one. But countless others - especially those who have no home to call their own - will not have that opportunity.

"This Administration is dedicated to serving the homeless and finding them homes, and HUD is proud to be leading the effort. We support thousands of centers like this around the country�and HUD is working to strengthen these partnerships even further. Working with our faith-based partners and other community organizations, we shine a light to those who have perhaps lost their way�and have a profound impact in the lives of homeless men and women."

President Bush and Secretary Martinez announced more than $1 billion in grants to provide housing and supportive services to hundreds of thousands of homeless families and individuals across America. In announcing the grants, the Secretary said: "These grants will not only provide food, shelter and job training but also new opportunities to bring hope and encouragement to our nation's homeless. Time and time again we've experienced our country's great generosity when fellow Americans are in need - and this is a perfect time to show our support for local charities and community caretakers who serve the homeless."

The grants will help the homeless find emergency shelter, and transitional and permanent housing. The funds will go to state and local governments and non-profit organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

More than 2,500 individual projects - over 90 percent administered by non-profit organizations - will receive Continuum of Care funding and will assist more than 200,000 families and individuals to find housing and supportive services they need to move toward the goal of self-sufficiency. More than 1,300 projects will serve homeless veterans. In addition, more than 400 projects operated by faith-based organizations received a total of $133 million.

Ending chronic homelessness is a primary goal of HUD's homeless assistance programs. It's estimated 650,000 people are homeless on any given night in America. HUD's own report, Homelessness: Programs and People They Serve, found that homeless clients are predominantly male (68 percent) and a majority of homeless women (60 percent) have young children. Homeless individuals are about equally divided between non-Hispanic whites (41 percent) and African-Americans (40 percent). The report also found Hispanics account for approximately 11 percent of the nation's homeless population.

• Read about HUD's new initiatives to help the homeless.
• View a list of states and the grant amount received, by program.