BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.,
Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Virginia Fricke, 74, has raised
and cared for generations of her family in Bay St. Louis: five
girls, seven grandsons, five granddaughters, 15 great-grandsons,
and four great-granddaughters. Her home, rebuilt in 2006 after
Hurricane Katrina, stands on the same property where she has lived
for more than half a century.
However, with a fixed income, Ms. Fricke could not afford
critical home repairs made necessary by nine years of the coastal
climate. Through a friend, she learned about the Special Needs
Assistance Program (SNAP) from the Federal Home Loan Bank of
Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and member
institution The First, A National Banking Association. SNAP grants
are offered on a first-come, first-served basis to fund necessary
home repairs and modifications for income-qualified, special-needs
homeowners.
The Hancock Resource Center (HRC) in Waveland, Mississippi, served as a liaison,
helping Ms. Fricke with her SNAP application and submitting it to
The First on her behalf. The HRC serves Hancock County with home repairs and
rehabilitation, community development, and housing counseling.
"SNAP grants are a much-needed asset to our community," said
Jane Stock, HRC construction
coordinator. "This year alone, eight families have been approved
for SNAP grants that will pay for needed repairs. Our office has
helped nearly 20 residents. We feel very fortunate for the SNAP
grants that help income-qualified, disabled, and/or elderly
residents."
C. Jerome Brown, senior vice
president and director of Community Investment at The First, A
National Banking Association, echoed Ms. Stock's
sentiments.
"FHLB Dallas and the Hancock Resource Center are valuable
partners to us," Mr. Brown said. "Their solid commitments allow The
First to fund critical repairs that otherwise, might not be
completed."
Ms. Fricke was awarded a $5,000
SNAP grant that paid to rebuild an air-conditioning platform and
have new fascia and vinyl siding installed on parts of her
home.
"I sure appreciate all you've done," Ms. Fricke said. "I don't
know what I would have done without the SNAP grant."
In 2015, FHLB Dallas made $1.5
million in SNAP grants available in two rounds. The first
$750,000, offered in January, was
snapped up in 11 days. The second offering of $750,000 was exhausted in less than four hours
when it became available on August
3.
"Talking with our members, we learned of a real need for this
type of financial support in our District," said Greg Hettrick, vice president and director of
Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "We are honored to be able to
provide SNAP funding through our members and help them support
their communities."
Since SNAP's inception in 2009, nearly $9.2 million has been awarded in grants through
member institutions to assist 1,846 families across FHLB Dallas'
five-state District of Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and Texas. In the
first half of 2015, Mississippi
was awarded more than $167,000 in
SNAP grants that assisted 35 families.
About The First, A National Banking Association
The First, headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, began as a dream on
a back porch in South Mississippi.
A group of local businessmen talked about creating a bank that
would take care of business by taking care of people one customer
at a time and The First was born. Now, that dream has grown from a
back porch to cities and towns all over South Mississippi, South Alabama, and Louisiana. The First is more than a bank
because it is still a group of friends building relationships and
taking care of business one customer at a time! The First
currently has 31 locations and assets exceeding $1 billion.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the
FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total
assets of $42.6 billion as of
June 30, 2015, is a member-owned
cooperative that supports housing and community investment by
providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to
approximately 865 members and associated institutions in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and Texas. For more
information, visit fhlb.com.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
www.fhlb.com
(214) 441-8445
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151008/275533
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150126/171462LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/family-matriarch-grateful-for-critical-home-repairs-funded-by-special-needs-grant-300157090.html
SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas