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Abandoned Surplus Building to be Rehabbed, Thanks to $488K Grant
[October 24, 2016]

Abandoned Surplus Building to be Rehabbed, Thanks to $488K Grant


Sandra Christophe believes in second chances, and with the help of a $488,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and BancorpSouth Bank, Ms. Christophe can soon help make second chances available to those who need them most.

Ms. Christophe is the executive director of Re-Entry Solutions, an organization that provides educational, housing, and support services to individuals returning from incarceration into the community. Now in its sixth year, Re-Entry Solutions works with clients to develop individualized success plans as they return to independence.

The AHP grant will fund the rehabilitation of an abandoned government surplus building in Alexandria, Louisiana. The building, which was last used as a shelter during Hurricane Katrina, will house A New Beginning Transitional Living Complex, a 61-unit apartment community intended to serve homeless single adults and individuals returning from incarceration into the community. The transitional facility will provide 11 one-bedroom, one-bathroom independent apartment units, as well as 50 "sleeping pods" for special-needs individuals in need of housing and additional support.

"When people are released from incarceration, they sometimes have a hard time with the re-entry into society," said Ms. Christophe. "This grant will help us break the cycle of addiction and incarceration."

According to the United States Department of Justice, an estimated 2.2 million adults were held in custody in state or federal prisons or local jails in the United States in 2014. More than 49,000 adults were incarcerated in Louisiana.

Evelyn Edwards, vice president of the southeast region and community reinvestment specialist at BancorpSouth Bank, worked with Ms. Christophe during the grant application process. In ts 26-year partnership with FHLB Dallas, BancorpSouth Bank has awarded more than $10 million in competitive AHP grants.



"Re-Entry Solutions does great work to help individuals transition back into the community by providing educational services, job placement, and housing," said Ms. Edwards. "I am proud to be a part of their mission to ensure their clients' successful re-entry to the community through the Affordable Housing Program. BancorpSouth saw this as an opportunity to challenge the status quo by doing its part to undergird Re-Entry's desire to offer wraparound services under one rooftop to ensure a successful second chance at life."

FHLB Dallas annually returns 10 percent of its profits in the form of AHP grants to the communities served by its member institutions, like BancorpSouth Bank. AHP grants fund a variety of projects, including home rehabilitation and modifications for low-income, elderly, and special-needs residents; down payment and closing cost assistance for qualified first-time homebuyers; and the construction of low-income, multifamily rental communities and single-family homes.


"The Affordable Housing Program helps our members impact their communities by creating solutions," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "This grant helps provide critical housing, and at the same time, supports sustainability by rehabilitating an abandoned property."

Ms. Christophe said that without the grant, Re-Entry Solutions would not have been able to serve as many people.

"Everybody is somebody's somebody - somebody's son, daughter, sister, or brother," said Ms. Christophe. "People deserve and need a second chance. When we help someone achieve successful re-entry, everybody wins. The community wins, the next generation wins, and the economy wins."

About BancorpSouth Bank

BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS) is a financial holding company headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, with approximately $14.6 billion in assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates 238 full service branch locations as well as additional mortgage, insurance, and loan production offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, including an insurance location in Illinois. "Like" us on Facebook (News - Alert); follow us on Twitter@MyBXS; or connect with us through LinkedIn.

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 $54.4 billion as of June 30, 2016, 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.


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