$7K Special Needs Assistance Program Grant Replaced Failing AC/Heating Unit

MidSouth Bank and FHLB Dallas Provided Funds

ZWOLLE, La.--()--Retirement income often doesn’t stretch far enough to pay for major home repairs — even if the home doesn’t have a mortgage.

Jerry and Pamela Cartinez built their home in 1986. The house is paid for, but when the central heating and cooling fell into disrepair, the couple didn’t know where they’d get the money to replace it.

“The unit ran nonstop. It never cut off,” said Ms. Cartinez. “It was increasing our electric bill.”

She learned about the Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) while she was browsing through Facebook over the Christmas holiday. “I’ve always said God has ways of telling us things we need to know,” she said. “I was just searching around on Facebook and found information about this grant. I’d never heard of it before, but I thought it was something that might help us. Right after the holidays, I contacted MidSouth Bank about the grant.”

SNAP grants are awarded by through participating member institutions, such as MidSouth Bank.

The Cartinezes, who are raising two of their grandchildren, received a $7,000 grant, which paid for a new heating and air conditioning unit as well as handicap-accessible toilets in both bathrooms.

Ms. Cartinez, 58, suffers from severe back problems, and is retired after more than 20 years with a local school district, where she was an accounts payable clerk. Mr. Cartinez, 59, receives Social Security disability after retiring from a real estate investment trust company where he was a supervisor. He also battles back issues, as well as hip and joint difficulties.

“It’s gratifying to be able to provide this assistance to people such as the Cartinezes through SNAP,” said LaCarsha Babers, community outreach development specialist at MidSouth Bank. “The grants are an invaluable benefit for qualifying homeowners in need of help with repairs and improvements.”

Since SNAP’s inception in 2009, more than $13 million has been awarded in grants through FHLB Dallas member institutions to assist more than 2,600 families across FHLB Dallas’ five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. In 2017, FHLB Dallas awarded $1.5 million in SNAP grants that assisted 306 families. The $2 million in 2018 SNAP funding, made available in January on a first-come, first-served basis, has been exhausted.

Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said SNAP makes a positive impact at a local level.

“The program was developed to provide income-qualified special-needs homeowners the funds to maintain and care for their homes,” Mr. Hettrick said. “We’re honored to work with MidSouth Bank to make these funds available to residents.”

About MidSouth Bank

MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, with assets of $1.9 billion as of March 31, 2018. MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. trades on the NYSE under the symbol “MSL.” Through its wholly owned subsidiary, MidSouth Bank, N.A., MidSouth offers a full range of banking services to commercial and retail customers in Louisiana and Texas. MidSouth Bank currently has 42 locations in Louisiana and Texas and is connected to a worldwide ATM network that provides customers with access to more than 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Additional corporate information is available at midsouthbank.com.

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 $65.1 billion as of March 31, 2018, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community investment by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 825 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.

Contacts

Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
Corporate Communications, 214-441-8445
fhlb.com

Release Summary

A $7,000 Special Needs Assistance Program grant from MidSouth Bank and FHLB Dallas funded various home repairs for Louisiana couple.

Contacts

Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
Corporate Communications, 214-441-8445
fhlb.com