DALLAS, Feb. 27, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (Bank) awarded a $272,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to the Methodist Mission Home (MMH) in San Antonio, Texas. USAA Federal Savings Bank sponsored the application process.
The grant is awarded to the Southwest Center for Higher Independence (SCHI) Capital Campaign, a project of the Methodist Mission Home, which plans to renovate housing facilities for young adults, ages 22-30, living with multiple disabilities.
The original living facilities were built in 1968, and the AHP grant will provide better living accommodations for residents in the SCHI program. The Methodist Mission Home rehabilitation and life skills development services originally focused on individuals with hearing disabilities. However, within the past 10 years, MMH has expanded its services and now provides comprehensive care for individuals with multiple physical and mental disabilities. The SCHI project is designed for disabled young adults who participate in the Methodist Mission Home's independent life training program. This program teaches individuals how to live with their disabilities, and prepares them for an independent lifestyle.
"Most programs that serve young adults with disabilities, including special schools, terminate services when the individual reaches the age of 22," said Jennifer Sample, Executive Director Methodist Home. "This is quite arbitrary, as many people with disabilities do not have the life and vocational skills to achieve any reasonable degree of independence. Our program is designed to extend this learning period so that our students have a successful transition into an independent lifestyle in our community."
USAA Federal Savings Bank is a financial services institution primarily serving those in the U.S. military and their families and is a member shareholder of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. USAA Federal Savings Bank's charter enables it to sponsor Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas's grants to worthy organizations for affordable housing. Each year, the Bank allocates 10 percent of its earnings to its Affordable Housing Program (AHP), and the grants are used for rehabilitation and construction of housing for qualified residents. In 2008, the Bank, through its member institutions, awarded $17.5 million in grants to assist 2,913 households. In Texas, the Bank awarded $7.9 million in AHP grants to create or renovate 1,600 housing projects in 2008.
About Methodist Mission Home
Methodist Mission Home was founded in 1895 and continues to serve hundreds of people each year. MMH programs include adoption services for birth mothers, birth fathers, and adoptive families. Methodist Mission Home Services (MMHS) offers domestic, international, and older-child adoption programs to families wanting to adopt. MMHS also offers community-based and residential programs for adults who are deaf/hard of hearing, or have other disabilities through the SCHI program. For more than 30 years, SCHI has assisted hundreds of adults with disabilities learn the vocational and life skills to achieve their personal best.
About USAA Federal Savings Bank
Established in 1983, USAA Federal Savings Bank (FSB) and its subsidiary, USAA Savings Bank, provide a full range of financial products and services to the military and their families including checking and savings accounts, CDs, credit cards, mortgages, automobile loans, and other consumer loans. With $28 billion in deposits as of Mar. 31, 2008, USAA Federal Savings Bank is the 29th largest bank in the nation. For more information, visit usaa.com.
About Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. The Bank, with total assets of $78.9 billion as of December 31, 2008, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit the Bank's web site at fhlb.com.
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