Page 28 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2017

COASTNOTES
Luggage packed with essential items for foster children “aging out” of the program to prepare them for their new adult journey.
Dr. Persharon Dixon
Gulf C ast Connection
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of Dr. Persharon Dixon
LUGGAGE FOR
Love
Making a difference with children
It’s no secret that children who enter the foster care program are faced with a multitude of challenges at a young age, but what many don’t realize is that their time in foster care is only the beginning.
Gulf Coast Connection
228.234.5582
t the age of 18, children in the foster care program ‘age out’ of the service, forcing them into adulthood all at once. “The average 18 year old who led a normal life
under the protection of their parents isn’t necessarily ready to be on their own at that age, let alone an 18 year old who was raised without parental figures,” said
Dr. Persharon Dixon, a physician and president of the local organization Gulf Coast Connection. “Those children are especially at risk.”
That’s where Dixon and her organization step in. Gulf Coast Connection is a non-profit organization made up of professional African-American women from across the Coast. They aim to
target these groups through a variety of programs centered around arts, youth, national and international trends, as well as health and human services.
“During the period after a child ages out of foster care, we step in as mother figures and help them learn the life skills they will need during this critical period and into their futures,” Dixon said. The group works to improve the resources available to those coming out of foster care, as
well as educate them on scholarship opportunities that are available.
The group recently donated 50 pieces of luggage to the local homeless shelter
as a way of providing children who were about to enter the foster care system with something of their own. “When these kids leave home, they’re leaving behind everything they know,” Dixon remarked. “Even if their living situation wasn’t suitable, it’s the only home they’ve ever known and they have to leave it behind, taking all of their belongings in trash bags. The message that sends to the kids is that they, too, are trash. This luggage is something that is entirely theirs and they can take with them no matter where the next stop may be.”
Judge Robin Midcalf, County Court Judge and Special Circuit Judge for Harrison County, is an active member of Gulf Coast Connection. “This group is dynamic, smart and energetic. I am excited about all the things we have done over the past two years and I look forward to how we can continue to fulfill our purpose in service to our communities.”
Gulf Coast Connection is currently an interest group of The Links, Incorporated, an international non-profit made up of 14,000 professional women of color in 283 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth
of the Bahamas. The local group hopes
to become an official chapter of The
Links and continue their work in the community.
28 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2017 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net