BancorpSouth Bank, FHLB Dallas, and Sacred Heart Catholic Mission Giving Hand-up and Hope to Low-Income Senior Citizens

CAMDEN, Miss., Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recognizing a need to provide safe housing for low-income senior citizens, Sacred Heart Catholic Mission turned to BancorpSouth Bank for help. A member institution of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), the Jackson, Mississippi, community bank was able to secure a $200,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant, allowing Sacred Heart to make critical repairs on 25 homes, with the majority of those homes being in Camden and Canton, and a few in Madison, Mississippi.

Bre Chapman, senior vice president and chief administrative officer with FHLB Dallas, applauds BancorpSouth Bank for leveraging available grant dollars to fund important initiatives such as this.

"We make these grant dollars available to our member institutions so they can collaborate with key community partners to address affordable housing needs in their respective communities," notes Ms. Chapman. "We are thrilled that BancorpSouth is working with Sacred Heart Catholic Mission."

This is the fifth grant that Sacred Heart Catholic Mission has received from FHLB Dallas through BancorpSouth Bank. Previous grants have allowed the organization to repair 90 homes between 2009 and 2014. Officials at Sacred Heart Catholic Mission say they are in the process of selecting qualified homeowners, and work is expected to begin in 2015.

"There is such great need in our community for this type of project, and we simply could not make an impact without the support of partners like BancorpSouth Bank and FHLB Dallas," says Sister Donna Gunn, coordinator of the home improvement program for Sacred Heart Catholic Mission. "Without our help, many of these senior citizens would have no choice but to continue living in conditions that are unsafe, and/or not conducive with a physical disability."

This latest $200,000 grant, Sister Gunn says, will be of tremendous help to the organization.

"It's never easy to tell someone that we won't be able to help them, but for those we are able to help, it's wonderful to see their hope in humanity restored," adds Sister Gunn.

Evelyn Edwards, a vice president with BancorpSouth Bank, says her institution is committed to being part of the solution to social issues that threaten the very fabric of the communities they serve. 

"A significant percentage of our population is at a socio-economic disadvantage, and as a result they are forced to live in substandard housing conditions where the roof might be falling in or the electrical or plumbing isn't functioning properly," says Ms. Edwards. "We want to help renew community pride by tapping into available resources on behalf of community partners like Sacred Heart."

About BancorpSouth Bank

BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 300 commercial banking, mortgage, and insurance locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, including an insurance location in Illinois. 

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 advances 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

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140729/130876

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

Related Links

http://www.fhlb.com