Community leaders work to curb teen violence with ‘Stop the Violence’ initiative

GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV) — After fights broke out at the 18th annual Unity Festival in Downtown Gulfport over the weekend, community leaders are speaking out about youth violence and plans to curb it.

Though the 2026 Unity Festival in Gulfport was a success, it did face a few hiccups after fights between teens in attendance took center stage. Ward 6 City Councilwoman Carissa Corbett took to social media to voice her concerns.

In a statement she condemned the teens actions, noting that they create an unsafe environment for families, children, and the elderly. She also mentioned the role of parental responsibility in preventing incidents like these.

“Youth violence is huge in our community, and I think it’s time to put a curb on that. It’s gonna take all the people from the community to get involved. We need parents, school teachers, the school board, our city leaders, our elected officials. We need everyone to become involved,” said Corbett.

Councilwoman Corbett says addressing youth violence starts with keeping kids engaged and invested in their personal growth.

“Our children have nothing to do in our community. For instance, we are here at our Jack and Florence Golden sports plex, and this sports plex is contracted out to a contractor who is charging our kids from our community to come practice. That should be free. This is our community park. We shouldn’t be charged,” she said. “I would also like to just bring different resources such as getting together more mentorship programs, and just them learning about other ways to let their anger out. I just feel like it’s time for the community to step up, and the parents also have to step up, because we have to remember it all starts at home. If the home base and that foundation is set, we wouldn’t have to worry about how the children are acting outside of that.”

In response to the weekend’s events, community member and CEO of Hudson and Company, Bobby Hudson III, says he is relaunching his crime prevention initiative, “Stop the Violence,” with a focus on real solutions, meaningful conversations, and stronger community engagement.

“As we aim to really eradicate violence in our community, it’s really going to be a united, collective effort. It’s not a black and white thing, it’s not a this ward versus that ward thing. As a city, we’re gonna have to come together to really pour into our youth and uplift our community,” Hudson said. “As part of this initiative, we’ve been really intentional about our approach with it. So, having focus groups from parents to students who’ve experienced violence to really talk about what’s at the core. How do these issues get started? How do we really, proactively find solutions?”

The conversation starts with a community town hall on May 21, and continues with a Stop the Violence Block Party on July 18.