TUPELO, Miss., May 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A disabled couple from Tupelo, Mississippi, recently received a $4,450 Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grant from BancorpSouth and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) to make critical repairs to their home.
Zeno and Earline Pulliam used the funds to replace a leaking water heater and repair and treat a window sill that was severely damaged by a termite infestation. The grant also funded the replacement and painting of wood exterior trim, and the repair of a leaking kitchen sink.
In 2010, FHLB Dallas set aside $1.5 million of its annual Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds for SNAP, a rehabilitation program available through FHLB Dallas member institutions, such as BancorpSouth, to provide grant funds to assist income-qualified, special needs homeowners with necessary home repairs and modifications. Each SNAP recipient is eligible to receive $5,000. If a member financial institution contributes at least $350 towards costs associated with the rehabilitation, the homeowner is eligible to receive up to $7,000 from FHLB Dallas.
The Pulliams are in their 50s and both suffer from debilitating back problems and are no longer able to work. Earline Pulliam spent 27 years as a banker, and Zeno Pulliam, who also has epilepsy, spent 25 years as a factory worker before physical ailments forced them both to retire.
"It was a blessing," Mrs. Pulliam said of the SNAP grant. "I thank God for it. It just came at the right time. It was an immediate need." The termite problem was so intense that one side of the window sill in the couple's bedroom was caving in, she said, and the water heater leak was at a critical stage. Costly medical bills prevented the couple from being able to afford the repairs themselves.
Christy Minton, fair lending officer at BancorpSouth, said the SNAP program is in great demand.
"To have nearly exhausted our 2010 funds in the first three months of the year shows me that this need may be even greater than down-payment housing assistance," Ms. Minton said.
BancorpSouth partnered with Neighborhood Development Corp., a nonprofit whose mission is to provide safe and affordable housing to Tupelo residents, to disburse SNAP funds.
"Those receiving SNAP grants are low-income residents who don't have other resources to make critical home repairs," said Peggy Woods, a Tupelo city employee with the Department of Development Services. Ms. Woods works closely with Neighborhood Development Corp. and she, too, has seen great demand for the program in Tupelo.
"Since we've started the program, we've had a waiting list," Ms. Woods said. "The funds are helping to revitalize Tupelo's older neighborhoods where homes have fallen into disrepair."
This year, BancorpSouth has requested $93,635.29 in SNAP grants and has received $76,280 in funding to date. In 2009, the first year of the program, Bancorp facilitated 20 grants totaling $97,161.93.
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 Inc., with approximately $13.2 billion in assets, is based in Tupelo, Mississippi, and has been serving customers for more than 130 years. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 314 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance, trust, and broker/dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. BancorpSouth Bank also operates an insurance location in Illinois. 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. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BXS.