In one of the year’s first big disbursements of funding to help people who are homeless or at-risk of being homeless, the state has awarded nearly $18 million to a half-dozen Southern California planning networks that coordinate money and services to address homelessness.

The money is part of a total of $53.3 million from the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program that is being divided among all of the state’s 43 Continuums of Care representing each county and a number of cities, according to a state Dept. of Housing and Community Development announcement issued Friday, Jan. 11.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which serves a homeless population in the city and county of Los Angeles that exceeds 50,000 people, will get the largest award of any entity statewide at about $10.4 million.

Awards to Southern California communities include:

Orange County, $1.9 million

San Bernardino County, $1.4 million

Riverside County, $1.3 million

Long Beach, $1.2 million

Glendale, $723,163

Pasadena, $720,243

Combined with other grant money, the awards are the first drawn from the Homes and Jobs Act Trust Fund under the newly enacted SB2 legislation. SB2 dollars are generated by real estate transaction fees.

A second round of funding is expected in the spring.