NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Hurricane Katrina's flooding in 2005 may have risen to 8 feet
inside the former St. Matthias Convent, but the Gulf waters did not
drown the faith and hope that remain here. A decade after its
near-destruction, the 8,000-square-foot building will be
transformed in 2015 into Hotel Hope, a 40-bed, short-term residence
for homeless women and children.
The estimated $1 million project
received a $100,000 Affordable
Housing Program (AHP) grant from First NBC Bank and the Federal
Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB
Dallas). The funds will be put toward the cost of renovating the
building at 4222 South Broad Street, which is projected to open in
late 2015 or early 2016.
"We felt very blessed to get the AHP grant from First NBC Bank
and FHLB Dallas," said Sister Mary Lou
Specha, executive director of Hotel Hope. "First NBC Bank is
deeply rooted in our community, and they are doing a marvelous job
bringing funds to the local level. Receiving the AHP grant assisted
us in attracting private funds. It has been a tremendous help."
In addition to temporary shelter, the building's first floor
will house day facilities with showers, a laundry room, child care,
prepared meals, clothing, telephones, and a computer center. As
well, services will include job counseling, life-skills training,
and mental-health screening and assessment.
"When you think about what they're doing, in giving hope and
helping to turn lives around, it's just priceless," said
Brad Calloway, executive vice
president of First NBC Bank. "First NBC is honored to support this
project. It will help women and children who are coming from
difficult situations and give them new hope and opportunities."
Each year, FHLB Dallas returns 10 percent of its profits to the
communities served by its member institutions, in the form of AHP
grants. The grants are used to assist in the development and/or
rehabilitation of affordable, owner-occupied and rental housing for
very low- to moderate-income families.
Sister Specha highlighted the inadequacy of temporary housing
for single mothers in New Orleans.
"By my count, there may be less than 40 emergency beds in the whole
city available for homeless women with children. But the need could
be as high as 250 in one night."
She said the 2010 founding of the nonprofit happened quite
simply. "A man heard a priest on TV talking about the lack of
services for homeless women and children. He called the priest, and
that got us started. When we think that small ideas don't go
anywhere, it's quite the opposite. This man didn't have to make
that call."
Estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), show that a family with just one full-time
worker earning minimum wage cannot afford fair-market rent for a
two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the
United States. In New
Orleans, this represents 13,424 family-households.
"FHLB Dallas is thrilled to partner with First NBC Bank to
support Hotel Hope. The contributions of everyone involved in this
worthwhile project will help fill a real need in the community,"
said Greg Hettrick, vice president
and director of Community Development at FHLB Dallas.
This year, FHLB Dallas awarded $9.8
million in AHP funding to 33 projects primarily within its
five-state District of Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and Texas. The 2014
grants will result in the creation or rehabilitation of 1,586
housing units. Since the program's inception in 1990, FHLB Dallas
has awarded more than $228 million in
AHP grants to help approximately 42,000 families obtain safe,
affordable, and quality housing.
About First NBC Bank
First NBC Bank Holding Company is a bank holding company,
headquartered in New Orleans,
Louisiana, which offers a broad range of financial services
through its wholly-owned subsidiary, First NBC Bank. The bank
serves its customers from its main office in the Central Business
District of New Orleans, 30 full
service branch offices located throughout its market and a loan
production office in Gulfport,
Mississippi. Established in 2006, First NBC had assets of
approximately $3.6 billion as of
September 30, 2014.
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 $37.5 billion as of
September 30, 2014, is a member-owned
cooperative that supports housing and community development by
providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to
approximately 900 members and associated institutions in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and Texas.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
www.fhlb.com
(214) 441-8445
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SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas