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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank Pittsburgh: 412-288-2851; cell: 412-335-9488;

Sharon Walden, SAFE Housing and Economic Development (SHED),
304-436-6181;

Homeowners in McDowell and Wyoming to Get Rehab Grants;
They are Now Able to Make Their Homes Safer, More Attractive

WELCH, WV, July 27, 2007 - More than a dozen homeowners in McDowell and Wyoming counties will soon tap into a new grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) aimed at helping them improve the condition and appearance of their homes, the local nonprofit action group SAFE Housing and Economic Development (SHED) announced today.

Sharon Walden, SHED’s executive director, said that FHLBank, the primary sponsor of the new Blueprint Communities initiative in McDowell and Wyoming, will release $150,000 in grants for the repair and rehabilitation of 15 homes. These owner-occupied properties, located in both counties, will be improved to offer greater accessibility to handicapped individuals and to conform to local regulations.

“I believe these funds will make a real difference to a number of families who want to make their homes better places to live,” Walden said. “They represent a continuation of the support first extended to SHED by FHLBank when an Affordable Housing Program grant was made for a transitional housing facility more than ten years ago.”

“The grant that we are delivering to SHED will help area homeowners of limited income stretch their dollars and put a better roof over their heads, creating a very noticeable and lasting impact on their neighborhoods,” said Jim Sizemore, president of Pioneer Community Bank, the local FHLBank member that participates in Blueprint Communities.

Sizemore said his bank will distribute the funds to SHED, which in turn will make the money available to qualified homeowners with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income. A maximum of $15,000 can be disbursed per homeowner, who must live in the home being improved.

Twenty-nine applications requesting a total of $4.79 million were received as part of FHLBank’s 2007 Pilot Homeowner Rehabilitation Program, which had set aside $1 million for initial funding. “The fact that SHED was awarded one of eight grants presented across Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia speaks to a genuine need in our area - the need for safe, fully functional, affordable housing for all of our citizens,” SHED’s Walden said.

To qualify for the rehab grants, rehab work performed on local homes must accomplish one or more of the following objectives: 1) provide energy efficiency, 2) improve accessibility for the handicapped, the elderly or both, 3) complement public/private investment to revitalize a community or neighborhood, 4) reflect a new or existing community plan or strategy, 5) result in more than 50% of the homeowners assisted having incomes at or below 50% of the area median income, 6) target blocks with less than 10% vacancy or blocks where development projects are in the pipeline and will reduce the vacancy rate to less than 10 percent.

With assets of approximately $73 billion, FHLBank Pittsburgh, a government-sponsored enterprise created by Congress in 1932, serves 335 financial institution members across its three-state district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is one of twelve FHLBanks, all cooperatively owned banks established to provide a steady stream of low-cost housing finance. More recently, the Bank’s mission has grown to include financing for business startup and expansion as well as a variety of community and economic development needs. The Bank is based in Downtown Pittsburgh.