Red River Bank and FHLB Dallas Provided Affordable Housing Program Funds
BOYCE, La.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Construction has been completed on an affordable housing project, helped
in part by a $450,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from Red
River Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) that
was awarded to St. Mary’s Residential Training School (St. Mary’s) in
2017. Project and bank representatives gathered this week at a ribbon
cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of the project.
The grant helped fund the construction of six group homes for 48
developmentally disabled individuals. This is the first of two AHP
grants the banks have awarded to St. Mary’s Residential Training School
(St. Mary’s), a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe housing for
disabled individuals. A second grant for $738,000 was awarded to St.
Mary’s in 2018 to fund the second phase of construction of nine group
homes for 72 developmentally disabled individuals, which will be
completed in June 2019.
“As a nonprofit organization, the funding provided by the Federal Home
Loan Bank of Dallas’ AHP grant was a lifeline for our organization,”
said Tamara McNulty, director of development at St. Mary’s. “The grant
allowed some of our area’s most fragile residents a safe, decent place
to live where their needs will be met, and they can enjoy a full quality
of life.”
St. Mary’s is home to more than 200 individuals with severe to profound
developmental disabilities, many of whom have a dual diagnosis of
autism. Families across Louisiana turn to St. Mary’s to not only provide
a safe living environment, but the niche services that increase
independence and improve the quality of life for the community’s most
vulnerable citizens. Some of the supplemental services St. Mary’s
provides include job training programs, the Applied Behavior Analysis
Learning Center and occupational and physical therapy consultants.
“The AHP is a vital part of this construction project, which will make
life easier for many people,” said Vice President of Community Relations
and CRA Officer at Red River Bank, Jannease Seastrunk. “Red River Bank
is a frequent user of this program and we are proud of the impact it has
made on the communities we serve.”
FHLB Dallas awards AHP grants annually, through members like Red River
Bank, to support the creation or rehabilitation of affordable housing
units, among other uses. In 2018, FHLB Dallas awarded $14 million in AHP
grants to 29 projects that will result in 1,853 new or renovated housing
units. Of that, $4.7 million was awarded to Louisiana projects, and will
result in 319 new or rehabilitated housing units.
“Red River Bank’s long-time utilization of the AHP is a testament to the
bank’s commitment to community investment,” said Greg Hettrick, first
vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.
“FHLB Dallas is proud to partner with Red River Bank in creating
positive change for special-needs residents in Louisiana.”
Visit fhlb.com/ahp
for more information on the AHP.
About Red River Bank
Red River Bank is a full-service community bank headquartered in
Alexandria, Louisiana. Red River Bank was chartered in 1998 in Rapides
Parish and began operating its first banking center in Alexandria in
1999. Red River Bank offers consumer and commercial banking services and
products, mortgage lending services, and investment services.
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 $69.0 billion as of March 31, 2019, is a member-owned
cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing
competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately
820 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com
for more information.
Contacts
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
fhlb.com
(214)
441-8445
