Here is one last profile of a Cottage owner assisted by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Home Equity Leverage Partnership Program (FHLB HELP). A lifelong resident of the Baptist Town neighborhood, Dorothy was one of the first people to apply for a cottage. Throughout the process of preparing for the project, construction and sale of the homes, Dorothy was patient and supportive, but also didn’t hesitate to be honest. She helped guide me and this project with wisdom and spunk that I think show in her picture.
The PR Newswire summarizes her story this way, “Dorothy Russell, 61, knows you can go home again. She was awarded a Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership grant from Planters Bank & Trust Company and FHLB Dallas which was put toward her down payment on her new home. Her new home is located on the same lot of her childhood home.” In her own words, “‘I was away from this spot for nearly 30 years,” she said. “I always wanted to buy a house, but I didn’t expect it to be exactly where I grew up. I’m so proud of my house.'”
Read the full article here.
architecture | equality 
Emily, who is building the Baptist Town Cottages? What is the cost?
Hi SS, My husband and I lead the Baptist Town Cottage Project. The Cottages themselves were donated for use as affordable housing from MEMA in 2011. They are the healthy, permanent successors to the FEMA trailers deployed after Hurricane Katrina.
We partnered with the Greenwood-Leflore Fuller Center for Housing to offer mortgages that are equal to what we invest to install them. This means they are extremely affordable and so far our very low-income buyers pay an average of 19% of their monthly income for housing expenses.
– Emily