U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator Barbara Fields has awarded $4.4 milion to support 25 new local homeless programs across Massachusetts.

The funding provides critically needed emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent support for individuals and families and is a significant part of the Obama administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

HUD recently awarded $1.47 billion to renew funding to more than 7,100 existing local homeless programs operating across the country. That funding ensured housing and service programs remained operating in 2012.

"This funding is critical to local Massachusetts programs that are on the front lines of helping those who might otherwise be living on our streets," said Fields, HUD New England regional administrator. "It’s incredible that as we work to recover from the greatest economic decline since the Great Depression, the total number of homeless Americans is declining, in large part because of these funds."

According to the latest data reported by more than 3,000 cities and counties throughout the U.S., homelessness declined 2.1 percent between 2010 and 2011and a remarkable 12 percent among homeless veterans.