WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced Wednesday that $1.19 million in federal funds has been allocated to various labor programs throughout Maine. The grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor and go to the Maine Department of Labor.

“This federal funding is critical to ensure that state and local employment services are readily available to those Mainers who need them most,” the senators wrote in a press release.

The funds will be used to provide financial assistance to disabled and homeless people in Maine.

. About $599,992 will help Maine people with physical and-or psychological disabilities. The funding will assist in outreach and marketing to the disabled in business.

. Another $397,740 will be used for a project that seeks to augment literacy and job readiness by training workers with skill shortages as well as out-of-area job search assistance that cannot be met by local social service agencies.

. And $199,777 will fund a program assisting homeless veterans to transition into the labor force, with the ultimate goal of putting these veterans in meaningful employment through job counseling, resume preparation, job development and placement.