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The County of Santa Cruz is set to receive almost $2 million in federal grants for its programs for the homeless. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which awarded $1.6 billion to 6,400 local homeless housing and service programs across the country. Much of the grant money for the county will go to permanent supportive housing. “Permanent supportive housing, both rental support and case management services, is the best intervention for people who have complex causes for homelessness,” said Julie Conway, the county’s housing director. People can become homeless due to a variety of reasons, such as mental illness, physical disability, substance abuse and domestic violence. “We also know that a lot of times, our incredibly expensive housing market makes people’s living situations much more fragile,” Conway said. “For people who are working hard and keeping it together, something may happen and maybe they need short-term assistance. Maybe they need rental assistance just for one month.” Read more in the Santa Cruz Sentinel