SNAP Grant Helps Disabled Couple Make Their Home More Energy Efficient

DALLAS, March 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A $7,000 Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Cypress Bank has given new life to the home of Tommy and Sondra Turner of Hughes Springs, Texas.

In 2010, FHLB Dallas set aside $1.5 million of its annual Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds for SNAP, a rehabilitation program available through FHLB Dallas member institutions that provides grant funds to assist income-qualified, special needs homeowners with home repairs and modifications. Each SNAP recipient is eligible to receive $5,000. If a member financial institution contributes at least $350 toward costs associated with the rehabilitation, the homeowner is eligible to receive up to $7,000 from FHLB Dallas.

The Turners have been customers of Cypress Bank in Lone Star, Texas, for about 10 years.  They have worked with Billie Sue Hanson, Vice President, since she joined Cypress Bank eight years ago. Ms. Hanson worked with the Turners on the grant application.

"The Turners are good, hardworking people who just fell on some hard times. They both got sick and were unable to work," said Ms. Hanson.

Tommy Turner worked as a truck driver and his wife, Sondra, as a cashier for a local grocer before health problems forced them to go on Social Security disability. The couple has three children – two sons and a daughter – and five grandchildren.

The SNAP grant allowed the Turners' home, which was built in 1977, to be made more energy efficient with the installation of two new storm doors and new insulated windows. A bathroom was also modified and a new central heating and air conditioning system was installed. The central air system had not worked in more than two years and the Turners had been using window units to cool their home.  

"The grant application process moved fairly quickly and work started on the house a couple of weeks after the grant was approved," Mr. Turner said.  He and his wife are very happy with the modifications to their home and appreciative of Cypress Bank officials for telling them about the program. "If we had not had the grant, there is no way we could have come up with the money needed to make these repairs," he said.

"From the bank's standpoint, it has been exciting to work on a program that helps people," said Ms. Hanson. The area has suffered from the slow economy with its main employer letting go most of its workers in March 2009. The plant has recently started up again and has called workers back, but Ms. Hanson said she has heard some really sad stories from people who have suffered financially. Working with the Turners and getting them approved for the SNAP grant was a welcomed positive experience.

 "The program is a great thing," said Ms. Hanson. "This is the first one I was able to work on and it was exciting. I have several other people in mind who might qualify as well."

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932.  FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $65.1 billion as of December 31, 2009, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas.  For more information, visit the FHLB Dallas web site at fhlb.com.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3013

About Cypress Bank

Cypress Bank is locally owned and has served the financial needs of Northeast Texas families since 1977. Its home office is located in Pittsburg, Texas, and it has branch offices in the cities of Commerce, Lone Star and Mount Pleasant. Cypress Bank is a full service, family financial center providing checking, savings and IRA accounts, as well as all types of consumer and commercial loans to its customers in Camp, Titus, Morris, Franklin, and Hunt Counties. For more information, contact the Cypress Bank main office at (903) 856-6653.