Stories from the State Bar - Part Three

At the 2025 Mississippi State Bar Convention, former State Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam interviewed over 20 people in 3 days to bring you a special 7-part series of her Hope Mississippi podcast. This is part three. 

What happens when dedicated individuals refuse to accept a broken system? In this powerful episode, we journey across Mississippi to witness extraordinary transformations born from crisis. We explore Mississippi's commitment to its youth, a lawyer/CPA who runs a summer program for kids in an abandoned YMCA building, and a bank's blind acts of faith in humanity after Katrina.

Attorney and Youth Court Judge Renee Porter takes us inside Marion County's remarkable youth court revolution. After three preventable child deaths revealed critical gaps in the system, Porter and her colleagues implemented new protocols that evaluate every child abuse hotline call. The results speak volumes—children in state custody reduced from 350 to just 20 through prevention plans, family reunification, and community partnerships. "It's not a shame to be poor," Porter emphasizes, "but we cannot afford to lose another child when solutions exist."

The inspiration continues with James L. Henley Jr., who transformed an abandoned 27-acre YMCA into Fresh Start Christian Church, now a vibrant youth center serving the inner-city community of Jackson. For 18 years, his programs have provided structure, education, and opportunity to children with nowhere else to go during school breaks. Henley shares touching success stories, including a former participant who, now a Walmart manager, donated hundreds of food items because "they kept me out of trouble when I was young."

Finally, Joy Phillips recounts the extraordinary innovations that emerged during Hurricane Katrina while she served as general counsel for Hancock Whitney Bank. When disaster wiped out infrastructure, the bank established makeshift branches within 48 hours, even literally "laundering" contaminated cash to meet community needs. Their compassionate approach to emergency loans and cash advances resulted in minimal losses and the acquisition of thousands of new customers.

These stories highlight Mississippi's greatest resource: its resilient and creative people, who refuse to surrender to circumstances. 

What challenges in your community could be transformed through similar collaboration and determination?

Hope Mississippi's Mission: The sobering reality remains: one in four Mississippi children lives in poverty, and one in five experiences food insecurity. These statistics aren't just numbers—they're our collective challenge. Through these conversations, we discover that Mississippi's transformation occurs through individual commitments to mentor, encourage, and be present for others. The small acts of hope accumulate into the broader "miracles" we celebrate.

Join us for new episodes on the 1st and 15th of each month as we continue sharing stories of transformation from across Mississippi. Each story reminds us that when we contribute our unique gifts, Mississippi rises together