TUPELO, Miss., May 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and BancorpSouth awarded a Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grant to a retired Tupelo, Mississippi, couple whose home had fallen into despair.
In 2010, FHLB Dallas set aside $1.5 million for SNAP, a rehabilitation program available through FHLB Dallas member institutions that provides grant funds to assist income-qualified, special needs homeowners with necessary home repairs and modifications. Each SNAP recipient is eligible to receive up to $5,000. If a member financial institution contributes at least $350 toward costs associated with the rehabilitation, the homeowner is eligible to receive up to $7,000 in grant funds.
A $4,500 SNAP grant provided Charles and Janie Clanton with interior ceiling and wall repairs due to a shifting foundation. Rotted wood from the cedar-plank home's exterior was also replaced, and the entire exterior was repainted as a result. Repairs were also made to the kitchen cabinetry.
Janie Clanton, 71, is disabled, and her husband, Charles, 89, is not physically able to make home repairs. The couple did not have the income to hire out the work.
"It looked and felt like the house was going to fall down," said Mrs. Clanton. "We had tried to get help for three years. I just kept praying." Mrs. Clanton said the repairs were completed about a month ago, and she is very thankful for the help that the SNAP grant provided her and her husband.
BancorpSouth partnered with the Neighborhood Development Corp. to obtain the SNAP funding. Neighborhood Development Corp. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide safe and affordable housing to Tupelo residents.
It's a partnership that has worked well, according to Christy Minton, fair lending officer at BancorpSouth.
"We like partnering with nonprofit organizations for this type of grant," said Ms. Minton. "Neighborhood Development Corp. can provide counseling and other services that we might not be able to provide as a financial institution. Together, we can offer a complete package."
"Those receiving SNAP grants are low-income residents who do not have other resources for making critical home repairs," said Peggy Woods, a Tupelo city employee with the Department of Development Services. Ms. Woods works closely with Neighborhood Development Corp. to disburse SNAP funds and she, too, has seen great demand for the program in Tupelo.
Ms. Woods said residents who have benefited from the program include the elderly, disabled, or those with special needs who have no wiggle room in their income for housing repairs.
"The homeowners are very appreciative of the work that we are able to accomplish through the SNAP program," Ms. Woods said.
This year, BancorpSouth has requested $93,635 in SNAP grants and has received $76,280 to date. In 2009, the first year of the SNAP program, BancorpSouth facilitated 20 grants totaling $97,161.
For more information about FHLB Dallas programs, please contact the Corporate Communications Department at 214.441.8445.
About the 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. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $58.7 billion as of March 31, 2010, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances 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 FHLB Dallas web site at fhlb.com.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3013
About BancorpSouth
BancorpSouth, based in Tupelo, Miss., has been serving customers for more than 130 years. It has grown from operating in a hardware store in Verona, Miss., to about 286 banking and mortgage locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. In addition to providing traditional banking services, credit cards, mortgages, trust and fiduciary services, the company provides investment services through its subsidiary BancorpSouth Investment Services Inc. and insurance services through its subsidiary BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BXS.