Grant Paves Way for Critical Home Repairs

SNAP grants assist income-qualified, special-needs homeowners with critical home repairs and modifications.

Mr. Dunmore said he heard about the SNAP program from several people, and they all advised him to contact the Hancock Resource Center (HRC). HRC, based in Waveland, Mississippi, facilitates SNAP grants in addition to helping low-income citizens with home repair and rehabilitation, housing counseling, and community development.

HRC assisted Mr. Dunmore with his SNAP grant application.

"Hancock Resource Center works to stabilize families and strengthen the community by addressing obstacles and barriers to housing," said HRC President Rhonda Rhodes. "Being able to make these repairs was an obstacle for Mr. Dunmore. It is our privilege to help him to stay in his home."

In February 2016, Mr. Dunmore was awarded a grant of $4,867 from FHLB Dallas and The First. It paid to replace rotting boards around the roof as well as install a ceiling fan in the living room, fix a broken water line in the front yard, and install a new vent in the roof over the kitchen.

"It has changed my life a lot," Mr. Dunmore said. "I've lived here since 1973 when the house was first built. The repairs have helped so much. I appreciate it very much."

Since SNAP's inception in 2009, more than $10.6 million has been awarded in grants through FHLB Dallas member institutions to assist more than 2,000 families across FHLB Dallas' five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas.

"The First strives to give back to our communities, so that citizens may enjoy a better quality of life," said C. Jerome Brown, senior vice president and director of Community Development at The First. "HRC is a tremendous partner to us and to SNAP applicants as the go-to source for information and support. We appreciate all they do on behalf of those in need."

In 2015, FHLB Dallas awarded nearly $1.5 million in SNAP grants that assisted 319 families. The $1 million in 2016 SNAP funding, made available in January on a first-come, first-served basis, has been exhausted. More than $21,000 of the 2016 funding was awarded in five SNAP grants through The First and HRC.

"Since it was established in 2009, SNAP has been one of our most popular programs because of the tremendous need for housing rehabilitation in our five-state footprint," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.

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 32 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 $49.5 billion as of March 31, 2016, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 850 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

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SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

Related Links

http://www.fhlb.com