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.
