A state program aiming to aid military families in buying a home for the first time will receive more funding, Gov. Pat Quinn announced on Veterans Day.

An additional $5 million will be allocated through a capital fund to the Welcome Home Heroes program. The program provides grants to military families to help them afford first-time homeownership. The investment will enable the program to assist an additional 500 military families.

“As we honor our Illinois heroes on Veterans Day, we are proud to invest in the Welcome Home Heroes program to help those who sacrifice so much buy an affordable home,” Quinn said in a news release. “The Welcome Home Heroes program offers a secure financing package that protects those who have committed their lives to protecting us. This program helps military homeowners and improves local real estate markets across Illinois.”

Funding for the Welcome Home Heroes program was originally provided by capital funds from the Illinois Jobs Now! program and the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The Welcome Home Heroes program has already assisted 550 military families.

One of the goals of the new investment in the program is to stimulate Illinois’s economy. The financial investment will add 250 full-time jobs, $8.4 million from real estate-related industries, more than $6.7 million in economic activity for the state and an additional $2.7 million in other statewide spending, according to the release.

The Welcome Home Heroes program, administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, is open to all veterans, active military personnel, Illinois National Guard and reservists.

“As the state’s housing finance agency, IHDA has enabled nearly 60,000 low- to moderate-income families buy a home securely and this investment means we can help even more families,” IHDA executive director Mary Kenney said in the release.

The investment in the program will also provide rental opportunities for veterans who are at risk for homelessness.