The Mississippi Free Press is committed to fostering dialogue across race, ethnicity, economic status, political parties, gender and religious beliefs. MFP’s Solutions Circles help provide a platform for these conversations where Mississippians can not only address challenges but also imagine solutions. The newsroom hosted virtual Solutions Circles during the pandemic and has since convened in-person circles series in Jackson (Central Mississippi), Lexington (Delta), Greenwood (Delta) and Biloxi (Gulf Coast). Our mission is to continue to host Solutions Circles throughout the state, including places we’ve never visited before.
MFP convened a Pascagoula Solutions Circle in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on March 19, 2026, when more than 30 people gathered at the Pascagoula Fairground. The attendees discussed challenges such as crime and violence, community infrastructure and lack of activities for local youth.

You can read more about our prior Solutions Circles here.

Crime and Violence

Problems:

  • Bullying
  • Kids raising themselves
  • Grandparents raising grandkids
  • Young parents
  • Gang violence
  • Drugs
  • Elder disrespect
  • Lack of things to do
  • Access to guns
  • Unnecessary violence out of boredom
  • Lack of community
  • Lack of stability
  • Parents out of the home incarcerated
  • Social media
  • Marginalization of young people
  • Concerns of disrespect in behavior
  • Kids are misunderstood
  • Seven out of ten kids facing abuse
  • Police corruption
  • Public spaces become crime traps

Solutions:

  • Bullying: mental health services, mentoring, limit social media exposure, build youth community.
  • Kids raising themselves: sex ed, access to birth control, big brother big sister program.
  • Disrespect: teach golden rule, honesty, integrity, empathy, limit abuse in homes, teach respect from cops to citizenships.
  • Lack of things to do: see stuff to do group, put on community events, crowdsource support, older people need to share time, energy, and space with younger people.
  • Community care, patrol programs
  • Men as role models for youth.

Community Infrastructure

Problems

  • So many potholes
  • Buildings are ugly
  • What’s going on with zoning?
  • Lack of money to pay for labor and goods
  • Lack of transparency in local government spending
  • Not enough jobs
  • No STD disease solutions center

Solutions

  • Drive around and fix potholes ourselves
  • Paint our buildings build morale
  • Create neighborhood hubs
  • Do a city audit
  • Get more jobs and business partners
  • Love the community’s environment
  • Volunteer for renovating old buildings
  • Pick up trash off the side of the road
  • Get sponsored for community projects
  • Make advertisements asking for help.

Stuff To Do

Problems

  • Nothing for kids to do.
  • The city needs more money.
  • There are places we don’t need. We need more youth activities.
  • Need third spaces, like churches, community centers and parks, with no cost of entry to interact with others.
  • Lack of things to do may increase crime.
  • Midnight basketball used to exist. It was not replaced with an alternative.
  • Not enough inclusive activities for individuals with IDD and autism.
  • Lack of education about community on the spectrum and Neuro divergent stigmas.
  • Activities for animal lovers.
  • Art lacks exposure.

Solutions

  • Joyful weeding
  • More money for activities and events.
  • Grants sponsorship, more businesses bringing money to the area.
  • Third spaces volunteer organizations involve the youth in the process.
  • Gaming tournaments, free gaming stations.
  • Youth oriented, activities sports board games life center.
  • Free classes for trade trades, volunteers, retired, trade workers, corporate sponsorship.
  • Youth council and other youth groups getting involved and being heard.
  • Thinking outside of the box.
  • Information staying informed sharing information through social media mail in the news.

The mission of the Mississippi Free Press, a new nonprofit journalism website and multimedia network that launched in March 2020, is to publish deep public-interest reporting into causes of and solutions to the social, political and structural challenges facing all Mississippians and their communities. Mississippians need to know each other across regions and share our challenges and solutions despite geographic and other differences. We are introducing Mississippians to each other through our deep accountability reporting and compelling people-focused storytelling, and by convening online and physical “solutions circles,” using our statewide networks to ensure inclusivity and representation.