MaineHousing awarded $2 million to fund pilot programs aimed at preventing student homelessness in five school systems, including Portland’s, the agency announced.

School systems in Portland, Lewiston, Biddeford, Bath and rural Aroostook County will use the money to hire housing and homelessness prevention specialists. The systems can also use the money to provide direct financial relief to keep homeless and students in unstable situations in their homes or to secure new housing, the agency said in a written statement Wednesday.

The entrance to Lewiston school district’s The Store Next Door, which provides services to homeless students in 2023. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald, file

The pilot program is designed to be flexible “to best meet the needs of the family needing help,” Lauren Bustard, senior director of homeless initiatives at MaineHousing, said in a written statement.

Roughly 1,700 students and their families are expected to benefit from the pilot, the agency said.

Portland received the largest grant of just over $759,000, which should help an estimated 650 students, the agency said.

Bath got roughly $442,000 to help 300 students; Aroostook County roughly $353,000 to help 110 students; Biddeford and York County got $275,000 to help 200 students; and Lewiston was awarded roughly $169,000 to help between 400 and 500 students, the agency said.

The awardees were selected from 11 proposals, totaling nearly $5 million in requested funds, MaineHousing said. The money comes from a one-time source of funding approved by Gov. Janet Mills and the state Legislature.

“Unfortunately, demand for these valuable state resources far outstripped the available funds,” MaineHousing director Dan Brennan said in a written statement. “As with all pilot programs, we look forward to learning all we can – in this case, to better prevent homelessness for students in the future.”