AUGUSTA — The Maine State Housing Authority has awarded $631,000 to 32 Maine homeless shelters to help prevent homelessness, pay for services and support operating costs, MSHA Federal Funds Director Peter Wintle announced.

The grants come from the federally funded Emergency Shelter Grants program. MSHA administers the funds for the state of Maine. The ESG funding amount for 1995 is $170,000 more than the amount the state received in 1994.

The housing authority estimates that ESG funds account for only about 10 percent of the total budgets of emergency shelters in Maine, although the specific percentages vary by shelter.

Priorities for funding under this year’s ESG program are homeless prevention and services to the clients of the shelters. Funding for those two categories totaled $380,000 of the $631,000 awarded.

The number of homeless in Maine increased from 1993 to 1994. The state’s emergency shelter network reported serving 12,351 people in 1994, compared with 10,710 in 1993.

The number of nights spent in shelters by homeless people increased at a faster rate, growing from about 118,000 in 1993 to 138,000 in 1994. Homeless shelter representatives say this is the result of more families using the shelters. It generally takes longer for a family to find suitable housing outside the shelter than for an individual.

Shelters receiving emergency shelter grants include: Temporary Shelter in Presque Isle, $28,750; Mid-Coast Hospitality House in Rockport, $13,695; Chisholm Shelter in Rumford, $14,800; and Youth and Family Services in Skowhegan, $20,000.