WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will award grants totaling $210,820 to four community agencies.

The grants will assist in the development and operation of supportive housing that enables elderly and disabled residents to live as independently as possible in the community, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

“These awards are welcome news for Maine’s senior and disabled populations because they will create independent living units while simultaneously offering day-to-day support for those citizens who need it most,” Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement Monday.

These grants provide funding to assisted housing owners to assist elderly or nonelderly people with disabilities, who reside in eligible housing, in gaining access to community-based services they need to continue living independently in their homes. Funding announced today includes:

. Methodist Conference Home, Rockland, $27,200

. City Hospital Housing Associates, Portland, $136,700

. Gateway Apartments, Lewiston, $33,421

. Whitney Brookside Homes, Canton, $13,499