Former Coast Guard Boat Mate Awarded Grant to Fix Her Home on Land
PORT SULPHUR, La., June 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Friends call Lynne Zane, 68, "Captain Zane" because of her career as a boat mate with the U.S. Coast Guard. During her time with the Coast Guard, Ms. Zane worked on everything from oil spills to ocean rescue missions. Then she was injured on the job. Soon, she found that after paying bills, her disability income would neither cover the maintenance of her 90-year-old home nor the repair of Hurricane Katrina damage.
"Air was coming in everywhere," Ms. Zane said of her home in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, a town of 1,760 people roughly 50 miles south of New Orleans. "Every window and door were wrapped in duct tape, and then the siding ripped open, and the air came straight in. I tried every organization to see if they could help me."
Then she heard from Catholic Charities in New Orleans about a program that could help her — the Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas). SNAP is offered by FHLB Dallas through its member institutions, like First NBC Bank. The program provides grants to assist income-qualified, special-needs homeowners with necessary home repairs and modifications.
Brad Calloway, executive vice president of First NBC Bank, has seen firsthand the positive effects of SNAP in his community.
"There are many residents in our community who are disabled and use the majority of their fixed incomes for necessities, like groceries," said Mr. Calloway. "This means there is very little left to make expensive home repairs. It is why SNAP grants make a huge impact on the lives of these residents."
When asked about the repairs funded by the SNAP grant, Ms. Zane said, "I got new windows and doors, and they made some steps at the back to get into what was once the garage. I feel very blessed."
In 2015, FHLB Dallas will make $1.5 million in SNAP grants available. The first $750,000 in grants, offered in January, were snapped up in only 11 days. More than 30 FHLB Dallas member institutions distributed the funds to more than 150 special-needs homeowners across FHLB Dallas' five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. The second offering of $750,000 will be available to member institutions beginning August 3.
"FHLB Dallas is pleased to help homeowners in need in our District," said Greg Hettrick, vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "The benefits that SNAP provides to our most vulnerable residents are invaluable."
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. In 2014, Louisiana received more than $314,000 in SNAP funding to repair or modify 65 housing units.
About First NBC Bank Holding Company
First NBC, headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, offers a broad range of financial services through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, First NBC Bank, a Louisiana non-member bank. First NBC's primary market is the New Orleans metropolitan area and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. First NBC operates from 32 full-service banking offices in the New Orleans metropolitan and surrounding areas, 3 full-service banking offices in the Florida Panhandle, and a loan production office in Gulfport, Mississippi.
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 $36.9 billion as of March 31, 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
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SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
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