DALLAS, July 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) is pleased to announce that a home repair project sponsored by Sacred Heart Catholic Mission has received an $80,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant.
The project will provide repairs to 15 homes of very low-income residents in northeast Madison County in Mississippi. Special emphasis will be given to disabled and elderly homeowners. The AHP grant was made available through BancorpSouth Bank, one of the Bank's members in Jackson, Mississippi.
"Rural areas tend to be overlooked in a sense," said Evelyn Edwards, Vice President of Community Reinvestment for BancorpSouth. "In the Camden community, where Sacred Heart is located, you have elderly people, who own homes, but can't get their homes upgraded to meet the needs of their disability. With this particular grant we are able to help get these homes up to par."
The Sacred Heart Catholic Mission is a nonprofit organization, and an apostolate of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers. The organization serves 2,000 community residents annually through its programs, including the home repair program and Meals on Wheels, among others.
"We're really excited, so are the people here," said the Rev. Michael Barth, Director of Sacred Heart Catholic Mission. "And we're thankful for the partnership that we have with BancorpSouth and particularly with Evelyn (Edwards), who has been a real advocate for the people out here."
Rev. Barth said his staff has gone out into the "highways and byways" conducting needs assessment interviews with residents in rural Mississippi areas and found more than 175 people, mostly elderly, who needed help.
"Some staff came back in tears. They didn't know people were living this isolated and that the conditions they were living in were as desperate as they were," Rev. Barth said. "We found that one of the greatest needs of our area, the rural area of Mississippi, was the home repair. Some didn't have running water; some had flooring that was caving in and animals were getting into their houses; others had broken steps, decaying roofs, or electrical problems. We were even amazed ourselves at how critical the needs were."
Each year, the Bank returns 10 percent of its profits to the communities served by member institutions in the form of AHP grants issued through its member financial institutions. In 2009, the Bank has awarded $5.4 million to projects within its five-state District, including nearly $1.3 million to projects in Mississippi, resulting in the creation or renovation of 136 housing units in the state.
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 $68.7 billion as of March 31, 2009, 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 FHLB Dallas web site at fhlb.com.
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