Cliff Johnson, a University of Mississippi law school professor, announced on Thursday that he will run as a Democrat for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District seat in next year against Republican incumbent Trent Kelly.
Johnson, in a campaign announcement video, said that if elected to the seat serving northeastern Mississippi, he would work to expand access to affordable healthcare, protect Social Security benefits, and preserve the state’s land and water resources.
“As Mississippians, we were taught that we are measured by how we treat those around us who are struggling and need help,” Johnson said. “But in Washington, too many career politicians have forgotten those values and callously bury Mississippi families under a heaping pile of oppressive policies that make life harder rather than easier.”
Kelly is likely to win the Republican nomination, but he could have a primary opponent.
If Johnson wins his party’s nomination, he will face incumbent Republican Kelly, a former district attorney and a retired officer in the Mississippi National Guard. Kelly currently serves on the House Armed Services and Agriculture committees and on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
A spokesperson for Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s campaign announcement.
Former state Rep. Kelvin Buck, a Democrat who represented Marshall County, has also qualified to run for the congressional seat.
So far, no Republican has filed paperwork to run against Kelly.
Johnson’s announcement follows several other candidates who have announced that they’re running for Congress in the 2026 midterm election.
Here is a list of other candidates who have announced they’re running:
Mississippi’s Health Department fired employees working on preventive health and health equity issues, people familiar with the personnel decision told Mississippi Today.
An employee who was terminated Wednesday spoke to Mississippi Today on condition of anonymity because of concerns about repercussions in future job searches. The former employee said they were one of about 10 people laid off from jobs dealing with preventive health and elimination of health disparities.
The Health Department downsized what it had called the “Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity” partially in response to issues outlined in a Sept. 22 report published by the Office of State Auditor Shad White, according to a person outside the department who was briefed on the firings and spoke to Mississippi Today under condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency decisions. The report alleged the Health Department failed to properly monitor taxpayer funds directed to the Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity.
Greg Flynn, spokesperson for the state Health Department, confirmed the department made staffing “adjustments” but would not say how many employees were laid off or in which offices. He declined to comment on the auditor’s report but said programs and outreach around preventive health and health disparities continue to exist.
“With uncertainty around federal funding, we’ve made personnel adjustments to protect essential direct services and keep the focus on the health of Mississippi families,” Flynn said. “Our priority is ensuring stability and continuity for the communities we serve.”
The former Health Department employee who spoke to Mississippi Today said they did not receive a direct response when they asked whether the layoffs were caused by the federal government shutdown that began on Wednesday, hours before the employee was terminated. Rather, the person was told that as a state employee without civil service protection, they could be dismissed without cause.
The Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity worked on programs dealing with chronic disease prevention and healthy living, according to an April 2024 social media post published by the Health Department.
“Our Health Equity Office ensures fair healthcare access for all,” the post said. “Together, we’re building a healthier, more equitable MS!”
Financial documents from the Health Department make reference to an Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity, but there is no mention of such an office on the Department’s Preventive Health page or Health Disparities Office page.
The auditor’s report said the Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity failed to properly monitor some taxpayer funds awarded to nonprofits through subgrants. Thousands of dollars were spent on gift cards, grocery cards and gym memberships with “little documentation about who benefited,” the report said.
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White shares memories of his high school and college years at Sandersville City Hall on Feb. 6, 2025, in his hometown. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
A Ridgeland-based nonprofit was awarded over $250,000 by the Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity through a two-year grant to be used for disease prevention for “underserved Mississippians.” The Health Department often reimbursed the nonprofit without proper documentation to prove the expenditures were appropriate, the report said.
In a statement to Mississippi Today, White said the Auditor’s Office found state agencies have been giving tax dollars to groups with little accountability for how the money is spent.
“So it’s no surprise to us that agencies are starting to make some changes now that our reports have been made public and taxpayers are starting to ask more questions about how their money is spent,” White said.
This isn’t the first time the Health Department has come under fire by the Auditor’s Office for work it outsourced to nonprofits.
In May, the Auditor’s Office said the Health Department failed to adequately oversee how nonprofits were using federal funds to address HIV prevention. The Auditor’s Office found that only 35 HIV tests were administered between 2021 and 2024, while the nonprofits received reimbursements for alcohol, late-night rideshares, purchases from a smoke shop and rental of a nightclub owned by one group’s executive director.
The Health Department said the lapses were “unacceptable” and did not “reflect the value of many nonprofit partners we continue to work with across Mississippi.”
Even before White’s September report criticizing the Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity, President Donald Trump and Republicans around the country have criticized programs the word “equity” in their names.
The programs have been said to violate federal and state regulations banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Mississippi has some of the highest rates of preventable diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, all of which are more common in Black residents in the state. These conditions contribute to maternal and infant mortality, in which Mississippi also leads the nation.
Update 10/2/2025: This story has been updated to add information about Mississippi’s health disparties.
Mississippi’s unemployment rate has changed little this year, while the state’s gross domestic product dipped slightly in the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
August’s unemployment rate was 3.9% and has fluctuated between 4.0% and 3.9% since March. This follows a national trend of what economists are calling a “no-hire, no-fire” labor market.
Katherine Lin
The number of job openings and the number of hires in Mississippi didn’t change much in July. There were 10,000 less separations — employees who left voluntarily, were laid off or fired — month to month.
Gov. Tate Reeves celebrated the state’s record high for total non-farm employment at 1,205,500. This was up by 16,200 compared with August 2024. In the announcement, Reeves called it “another great day for our state.”
Mississippi’s labor force participation rate dropped slightly in August to 55.9%. It reached over 56% in February 2025, the first time it has reached that peak since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mississippi’s labor force participation rate has historically been at or near the lowest in the nation, and is lower than the national rate, which was 62.3% in August.
Mississippi was one of two states where real GDP decreased in the second quarter of 2025. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP declined by 0.9%. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting were the largest contributors to this change.
Economic numbers only tell a part of the story. I’d love to hear about how you believe the economy is doing. How easy is it for people to find a job, are you planning on staying at a job you were planning on leaving? Email me at marketplace@mississippitoday.org.
Earlier this year it announced production delays for two electric SUVs. The hybrid-powered Xterra had been discontinued in the U.S. a decade ago. Nissan and other auto makers are shifting away from fully electric autos. This follows a slowdown in electric vehicle demand and the end of federal EV tax credits.
Nissan was the first car manufacturer in Mississippi. The Canton plant opened in 2003. The Nissan plant has been described as “the cornerstone of Mississippi’s automotive industry” and is credited with attracting other car manufacturers and suppliers to the state.
Jabil, a manufacturing solutions provider, is investing $70 million in a new X-ray sterilization facility for medical devices in Marshall County. The investment will be spread out over three years and promises to create 24 jobs.
President Donald Trump recently announced a new $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications. The visa allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in “speciality occupations,” such as engineering and medicine. Mississippi had 261 visa approvals in Fiscal Year 2025 according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This encompassed new visas, renewals and transfers. The University of Mississippi had 22 new employment visa approvals, the highest for any employer. It was followed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center with 16.
Entergy Mississippi announced it’s investing $300 million to upgrade its power grid. This is the biggest grid upgrade in the history of the state’s largest utility company. Entergy Mississippi’s CEO promised that this investment would not impact customers’ bills.
Ole Miss and Southern Miss are off this weekend and Mississippi State is on the road, but the Sanderson Farms Championship, Mississippi’s only PGA Tour tournament returns to the Country Club of Jackson. Today’s discussion includes golf – both a Ryder Cup review and a Sanderson Farms preview – and a Mississippi college football season that keeps getting more interesting.
Mississippi Today launched a major update to our website Wednesday night – the first redesign since 2021. In this revamp, we aimed to make the site a fitting showcase for the excellent work our journalists do every day to serve Mississippians while making it easier for you, our readers, to find the news that matters to you in the form you want to consume it.
Above all, we aimed to create a cleaner, less distracting reader experience by reducing unnecessary visual clutter, removing many of the advertisements on story pages and ensuring our reporting reads well on any device. We also made a number of technical improvements for faster load time on slower connections and mobile devices.
The navigation at the top and bottom of the site was also completely reworked to make it easier to directly access stories by topic. You’ll also notice more opportunities throughout the site to explore these topics more deeply, including related stories at the end of story pages, blocks to help you navigate between stories in larger projects and series, and more robust content tagging to help you find more stories on the topics that matter to you most.
We’ve elevated the links where you can find more information about Mississippi Today, how we’re funded and how to get in touch with us. We’ve also added more biographical information about all of our journalists that you can access by clicking on their bylines or by using the “read more” links at the end of stories. We’re proud to say many of our journalists were born and raised in Mississippi and are deeply connected to the communities they serve. We’re equally proud of the work they’ve done, the impact they’ve had and the recognition they’ve received in the form of regional and national journalism awards. This work is now more fully showcased on each of their bio pages.
We know many readers are now consuming our content on video platforms, so we’ve added new ways to feature video content directly on our homepage. As we grow our multimedia team, you can expect to find more video explainers, analysis and direct connection with our journalists through video throughout the site.
We hope you love the changes, and we also value your feedback. If you have any feedback – good or bad – or questions about the new design, please get in touch by filling out this form. We’d love to hear from you.
Finally, this work would not happen without the contributions of our member community. If you already support us, thank you for making all of these improvements possible. If you value this work and have the means to do so, we hope you’ll become a member or consider making an additional contribution so we can continue making improvements to better serve you.
City and county officials across Mississippi have taken new steps to address addiction with opioid settlement money in the wake of Mississippi Today’s investigation into how these funds have been managed and spent.
The newsroom found in September that of the $15.5 million of money nearly 150 local governments had received since 2022 from companies that contributed to thousands of Mississippi overdose deaths, elected leaders used less than $1 million to prevent the crisis from proliferating. That roughly $945,000 was the only part of Mississippi’s total settlement share, over $124 million as of this summer, used to address addiction.
Soon after the investigation was published, Jackson City Council member Kevin Parkinson shared at a late September council meeting how the devastating effects of a deadly overdose can permanently scar any family, including his own.
A few days later, years after Jackson received its first check from lawsuits intended to prevent more drug deaths, Parkinson told Mississippi Today he wants the city to use that money to curb an addiction public health crisis that has claimed the lives of thousands of Mississippians.
The city had received over $500,000 since 2022 from drug companies that contributed to the decades-long opioid crisis. Jackson, so far, has spent that money on routine general expenses such as construction — a common trend among the 147 local governments in the state receiving settlement shares, according to the investigation.
Parkinson, who was elected in June, said he didn’t know what the city had spent its money on until the newsroom’s investigation, and it was disappointing to learn about the dollars funding efforts such as moving city offices.
He said his 32-year-old sister died of an overdose in 2023. She entered addiction treatment but relapsed a number of times, and Parkinson remembers when he and his parents would drive through the Chicago suburbs searching for any sign of her, hoping she was still alive.
Kevin Parkinson, second from right, listens as Jason McCarty, United Way of the Capital Area program development strategist, shows Jackson City Council members a naloxone kit at City Hall in Jackson on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Naloxone is a life-saving medication applied to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Parkinson said he doesn’t see government bodies as the biggest victims in the epidemic, despite the fact Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office has allowed Mississippi local governments to use tens of millions of opioid settlement dollars for any public purpose.
“Families really, really paid the ultimate price,” he said.
Parkinson said he wants to explore ways for Jackson residents with expertise about the epidemic to share ideas for the money’s best uses — whether that’s through a public hearing or a community-led task force.
Mayor John Horhn, who took office July 1, said in September that he wants to see Jackson’s opioid settlement money spent primarily on violence prevention in the future. In the same speech, he said anything Mississippi governments can do to prevent fentanyl overdoses is a good thing.
Mayor John Horhn (left) with Jason McCarty, United Way of the Capital Area program development strategist, presents a proclamation, declaring September 25, 2025, Save a Life Day in Jackson, during Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting at City Hall in Jackson, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Nic Lott, Horhn’s spokesperson, did not respond to an email that asked what steps the mayor wanted to take to address the addiction crisis and if Horhn would support a public hearing related to Jackson’s settlement dollars.
Parkinson said Jackson needs to address important problems, including violence, but spending this money on addiction prevention, treatment and recovery could save lives. He said it would’ve been helpful for Fitch to restrict the funds for only those efforts.
“This is a case where I would have appreciated more handcuffs,” he said.
Officials representing four other Mississippi cities and counties, stretching from the Tennessee border to the southern end of the Pearl River, also confirmed they’ve recently taken steps to start spending the settlement money they control to prevent more deadly overdoses.
Officials in Lowndes County plan to send future settlement dollars of up to $50,000 over the next 12 months to Community Counseling Services, the region’s community mental health center, said county administrator James Fisher. Previously, the supervisors had directed over $140,000 for general services.
“Counties are not really equipped to turn funds like that into something meaningful,” Fisher said. “We just decided that they would be better to use the funds than what we were using them for.”
Keenyn Wald, Community Counseling Service’s clinical and operations director, said the center lost state grant funding last spring that it used for its addiction treatment services. Before the cuts, one of those programs helped over a dozen people a month receive treatment while they continued to work.
“Then that decreased pretty dramatically because the funding just stopped,” he said.
While Lowndes County opioid settlement money won’t fully make up that shortfall, Wald said, it will help the program scale up again.
The Yazoo County Board of Supervisors recently agreed to use the dollars it controls to try to prevent more overdoses in the community if it wins additional funds from the state Legislature’s settlement share, according to the Yazoo Herald. The Legislature and the Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council oversee most of the state’s money from the lawsuits, and they’re expected to start distributing that for opioid-related projects next year.
Members of the Mississippi Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee discuss priorities during their first meeting at the Walter Sillers Building in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
If lawmakers and the council approve Yazoo’s grant, the supervisors said they would combine those dollars with the money sent directly to them to hire two social workers to lead county overdose prevention efforts for four years. They’re calling the program Yazoo Health, Education, Access, Leadership and Sustainability — or Yazoo HEALS.
Supervisors had previously placed around $74,000 of settlement money in the county’s general fund.
“We received the money but really had no plan on how to use the funding for opioid addiction,” said David Peyton, one of the supervisors.
He said if the HEALS plan moves forward, the county’s future settlement checks would also go to this fund. Now that the supervisors and county lobbyist Sam Martin have developed a plan, Peyton said it’s easier to see how the local dollars can prevent deaths.
“If we can help people that have that addiction to find ways to stop using opioids in this way, then we’re really helping the community as a whole, one person at a time,” Peyton said.
Near the state’s northern border, Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson successfully lobbied the city’s aldermen in September to split future opioid settlement dollars between DeSoto County emergency mental health services and a local program to divert people charged with low-level drug crimes away from law enforcement and toward addiction treatment.
In June, Johnson wrote to Mississippi Today that the city was using its $73,000 from the opioid settlement to offset the cost of an ambulance. He recently said he still believes that will prevent more drug deaths but hopes spending money more directly on overdose prevention will go further toward that goal.
Johnson said he would recommend that other Mississippi mayors follow his example in spending settlement money for mental health.
“It’s a long-term solution that is going to work for your city,” he said.
Pearl River County could use its more than $500,000 of unspent opioid settlement money to address addiction but is still figuring out the best way, according to County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin.
He said local addiction treatment nonprofits also applied for opioid settlement grants from the state, which the advisory committee will prioritize if the applicants provide matching funds. If the nonprofits end up winning grants, the county wants to use opioid settlement dollars for those matching funds.
Lumpkin said Pearl River County officials are exploring a school program to dissuade kids from using opioids. They know prevention saves lives and money, but they don’t know the best ways to create that curriculum.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch speaks during the first meeting of the Mississippi Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee at the Walter Sillers Building in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Other states’ governments have provided guides for cities and counties on how to determine a community’s addiction response needs, develop projects to address those needs and combine resources with other nearby governments. Fitch and the Mississippi Legislature haven’t done that, and Lumpkin said it’s been hard to know how to implement Pearl River County’s prevention ambitions.
“My degree is in accounting. It’s not in social work,” Lumpkin said. “We’re going to have to invent a wheel, because we’re not getting it. It’s not passed down.”
As she handed out free doses of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone in Jackson on the city’s “Save a Life Day,” Brittany Denson stressed the life-saving potential of the settlement dollars. She’s in long-term opioid addiction recovery, and she uses her experience to help others at the Hinds County sober living home Grace House who arestruggling with the disease.
Sarah Donald of Pearl, left, in recovery for nine years, receives naloxone nasal spray from Brittany Denson, the Save a Life Day state co-coordinator and organizer for Hinds County, on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
The recovery residence only serves women, and she said there’s no equivalent nonprofit men’s setup in the area. That’s one of many overdose prevention resource gaps she sees in central Mississippi.
She said public input opportunities, like the ones Parkinson is pondering, are crucial for spending settlement money responsibly.
“It gets real dangerous when people of authority, who don’t understand lived experience, start changing the terms of what recovery looks like and kind of shun people who have that lived experience out of those things.”
The Democratic National Committee says it will spend a “low six-figure” amount to help Democratic candidates in seven special legislative elections in Mississippi in November.
DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement to Mississippi Today that building long-term infrastructure in the South is a top priority for him, which is why the committee is investing in Mississippi during an off-year election cycle.
“With this major investment, the DNC is turbocharging Mississippi Democrats’ organizing efforts to win crucial legislative races this November and continue us on the road to a blue Mississippi,” Martin said.
The committee did not say exactly how much it was spending on the Mississippi races.
Republicans have supermajority control of both chambers of the 174-member Mississippi Legislature.
The DNC’s investment will go directly to the Mississippi Democratic Party, according to a news release. The state party is expected to use the funds to support on-the-ground organizing efforts, boost paid advertising and build infrastructure.
Mississippi is conducting special elections this year because a federal three-judge panel recently ruled that the Legislature diluted Black voting strength when it redrew legislative districts in 2022.
Of the 14 seats lawmakers redrew, seven have a contested general election where a Democratic nominee is competing against a Republican nominee. The general election will take place on Nov. 4, and the deadline for voters to register in time to vote in the election is Oct. 6.
Exactly three months after Jackson Mayor John Horhn took office, his former colleagues in the state Senate are announcing a new emphasis on boosting the capital city’s economy.
Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann’s announcement did not detail any proposed policy changes — such as new criminal laws Horhn has floated to hold absent landlords accountable or quick-take blighted property — but the formation and membership of a new study committee on Jackson.
“With the city entering a new chapter, the time is now to pursue opportunities that will increase tourism, attract investment, enhance downtown, and promote future growth,” Hosemann, a northeast Jackson resident, said in the Wednesday press release.
A second new Senate study committee announced Wednesday will look at the shortage of attainable housing and increasing accessibility for first-time homebuyers statewide.
A Republican from Ridgeland and operator of a commercial real estate firm in Jackson, Sen. Walter Michel, will chair the Jackson study committee. Michel did not return a request for comment by press time.
Sen. David Blount, a Democrat who represents a district covering downtown and central Jackson, will serve as vice chair.
Blount said he’s repeatedly supported legislation, which has passed the Senate before dying in the House, to move state agency offices currently leasing space in the metro to downtown. The proposal saves the state money with cheaper leases, Blount said, plus it helps revitalize an area currently working to reverse a decades-long hollowing out.
“I believe that’s a win-win for the state,” Blount said.
Blount hopes leaders on each committee will get on the same page about legislation to benefit Jackson before the 2026 session begins.
Committee hearings will take place in coming months.
The Senate Study Committee on Jackson members are Sen. Walter Michel, R-Ridgeland (chair), Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson (vice chair), Sen. Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson (vice chair), Sen. Hillman Frazier, D-Jackson, Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, Sen. Brian Rhodes, R-Pelahatchie, and Sen. Andy Berry, R-Magee.
The Senate Study Committee on Housing members are Sen. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg (chair), Sen. Rod Hickman, D-Macon (vice chair), Sen. Gary Brumfield, R-Magnolia, Sen. Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi, Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, Sen. Chad McMahan, R-Guntown and Sen. Angela Turner-Ford, D-West Point.
New funding will pay the tuition and expenses associated with licensure for 201 more students at nine Mississippi universities. Test prep, mentorship opportunities and professional development will also be available.
As long as resident teachers commit to teaching in a “critical shortage area,” Elementary Education and Special Education students can also expect mentoring sessions, professional development opportunities and licensure testing support.
During the 2025 session the Legislature made $2,968,855 available to the Mississippi Department of Education to bolster its residency program. The Mississippi Teacher Residency, a program meant to help staff school districts struggling with teacher retention and recruitment, drew its initial funds in 2019 from the W. Kellogg Foundation and then also from American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
Capacity for the program can now increase from serving 35 to 236 resident teachers each year.
Eligibility is now open to prospective teachers, teachers seeking additional endorsements or licensure help, and currently enrolled education students. The former version of the program only offered tuition waivers and stipends to bachelor’s degree holders looking to get a masters’ in education. Applicants also now apply through their universities as opposed to through MDE.
A majority of Mississippi school districts are categorized as “critical shortage areas,” with 56% claiming the title. Nearly every school district in the Delta region is considered a ‘critical shortage area.’ These districts also received failing or near failing scores in the accountability ratings.
In a recent Mississippi Today story, Delta area teachers-in-training expressed frustration with the lack of preparation they received for licensure, particularly with the PRAXIS licensure exams.
“It left me feeling overwhelmed as I tried to catch up, and it significantly impacted my confidence, academic performance and health,” Timolin Howard told Mississippi Today.
The nine Mississippi universities and the breakdown of funds is as follows:
A one-stop place for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault on the Gulf Coast is now offering exams and technology to help collect evidence and lead to convictions.
The Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence, a nonprofit that runs two domestic violence shelters and provides a range of services, began Wednesday offering no-cost medical examinations and forensic evidence collection at its new Waypoint Forensic Clinic.
“Waypoint represents guidance, safety, and hope,” Lillian Lizana, director of the center’s forensic program, said in a statement. “Our goal is to provide compassionate, trauma-informed care that supports survivors and strengthens pathways to justice.”
The clinic is the first in the state to have a CortexFlo camera system, whose enhanced imaging can help see evidence of bruising and other injuries that may not be visible to the eye or by a basic camera, said Rene’ Davis, the center’s communications director.
She said the technology can help provide evidence that can be used in prosecution of sexual assault and strangulation cases.
Waypoint will also contract with certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, who collect evidence in kits that can be used in court. The nurses, who are trained to provide trauma-informed care, are able to see survivors at the clinic or an area hospital.
Davis said the clinic is an integral part of the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence’s
Family Justice Center, which brings together under one roof help for survivors through counseling, legal aid, law enforcement, prosecutors and other services. Stakeholders from across Harrison County have been working together for several years to establish the center, she said.
This is the first family justice center in Mississippi, and Davis said the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence is hopeful it will be replicated across the state.
The family justice center, located in Gulfport at 47 Maples Drive, offers services that include the Northcutt Legal Clinic, which provides free legal services such as filing for domestic abuse protection orders, divorce and child custody, and a domestic violence intervention program geared to abusers that teaches accountability and respect.
Renderings for the family justice center project imagine spaces for community services such as childcare and pre-school, offices for other departments and agencies and administrative space.
Nearly 20 years ago, the first family justice center opened in San Diego, California, and now there are more than 300 centers around the country, according to the Alliance for Hope International.
A report by the alliance has found that family justice centers help survivors feel safe and empowered and it cites research documenting how they reduce domestic violence homicides.
“There’s no reason we can’t see that in Mississippi,” Davis said.
