The Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $10.6 million grant to the Long Island Continuum of Care, which works to end homelessness on Long Island.
Bill Hills, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, wound up in an Amityville shelter after his wife died in 2013.
"It's the greatest thing that I've seen in a long, long time," Hills said of the HUD funding. "I didn't think it was possible."
The apartment complex where Hills is sheltered is among 42 housing and service programs that will receive some of the money.
According to Greta Guarton, of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, the vast majority of the homeless population are families in need of permanent housing.
The nonprofit says there are about 3,900 homeless people living on Long Island. About 70 percent of them are families and half of the total amount are children.