LEWISTON – A local agency that helps young people live on their own has received a million-dollar grant, money it worried might never come.

Last fall, the federal Department of Health and Human Services alerted New Beginnings that it would not receive funding for the first time in 15 years.

“It’s a nationwide competition,” said Robert Rowe, the local agency’s executive director. “If you score too low, you don’t get any money.”

There were scary days.

“We were devastated,” Rowe said. “We would have laid off people and reduced the number of people we serve.”

However, a second round of grants were announced. After weeks of hints, the official word from the national department’s Bureau of Children and Families Services came down on Monday.

They got it: $200,000 each year for five years.

“It’s a pretty good chunk of change,” said Rowe, whose agency provides services in Androscoggin, Kennebec and Franklin counties. “It’s about one quarter of our budget for the program.”

New Beginnings has run a transitional living program in Lewiston since 1988. It helps homeless young people ages 16 to 20 find an apartment, go shopping or pay their rent. It also teaches less tangible things such as persevering and working in a team, Rowe said. Further aid comes from the state and the United Way, he said.

“The youth we serve are some of the most vulnerable residents of Maine, and these funds will allow us to continue our efforts their behalf,” Rowe said.