The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $2.7 billion in funding to nearly 2,900 public housing authorities in all 50 states on Thursday. The total also includes funding for the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Forty PHAs in Mississippi received a total of $20,204,966. Mississippi Regional Housing Authority No. VII — which covers Lincoln, Lawrence, Franklin, Pike, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Walthall, Amite and Wilkinson counties — received $258,048.

These grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program for building, renovating and/or modernizing community public housing — such as replacing roofs, installing water conservation measures or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems.