In Pinellas, the $3.1-million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be divided among 12 agencies. The grant is 27 percent higher than the amount awarded last year.” If we had not gotten funded, then all of the programs would have been in very deep trouble," said Sarah K. Snyder, executive director of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless. "Some of them might have been closed down.” Hillsborough County received $3.6-million, which will fund 20 programs operated by different service providers, including the Salvation Army, Alpha House and the Tampa Housing Authority. The grant award is slightly less than last year is because it supports only existing programs, said Lesa Weikel, a spokeswoman for the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County. According to an annual survey conducted by the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless last year, 5,195 people in Pinellas County are homeless. That is a 10.5 percent increase from the year before. The next count will be done at the end of this month. Snyder said both improved counting of the homeless and the lack of affordable housing contributed to the increase in the homeless population. Part of the increase in grant money is due to the addition of the Clearwater Housing Authority to the grant application.