Two community agencies in Arkansas have been awarded $1.3 million in homelessness-prevention grants, U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki announced Thursday.

The grants will serve 340 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families who are helped by St. Francis House in Little Rock and Seven Hills Homeless Center in Fayetteville, Shinseki said in a statement.

Supporting Services for Veteran Families, the grant-awarding program, is in its third year of operation, allocating funds to private, nonprofit organizations that serve low-income veterans' families who are living in or moving to permanent housing.

Community-based groups can offer temporary financial help on behalf of veterans for rent, utilities and moving costs, the VA said.

Nationwide, Veterans Affairs has committed more $1 billion in fiscal 2013 to aid these agencies, according to the statement.