Red River Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) awarded a $738,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to help fund the second phase of construction of nine group homes for 72 developmentally disabled individuals.

This is the second AHP grant the banks have awarded to St. Mary’s Residential Training School (St. Mary’s), a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe housing for disabled individuals.

“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 St. Mary’s to provide housing for our clients without jeopardizing the supportive services that our clients also rely on.”

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 grant makes a significant impact – not just on the completion of the project, but also on the residents and their families,” said Vice President of Community Relations and CRA Officer at Red River Bank, Jannease Seastrunk. “We need grant programs like the AHP that can help bring projects like St. Mary’s to fruition.”

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.

“Our partnership with Red River Bank is a long one that has resulted in creating affordable housing opportunities for many individuals and families,” said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. “Their commitment to community investment makes life easier for many families in the community they serve.”

Ms. McNulty said without the AHP grant, St. Mary’s would have had to make the difficult decision of reducing program expenses to offset higher mortgage payments.

“The AHP makes an immeasurable impact on the demographic we serve because our clients would never be able to access permanent housing on their own,” she said. “With AHP’s help, we can create a community where people with developmental disabilities can live safely.”

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 $73.7 billion as of September 30, 2018, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 825 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information.