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

BancorpSouth Bank and FHLB Dallas Provide Funds for Transitional
Apartments

ALEXANDRIA, La.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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 its 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;
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.

Contacts

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

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