Help in Mississippi
For people starting over after prison, foster care, treatment, homelessness, abuse, or trafficking
We've verified 22 places in Mississippi, most of them in Biloxi, Jackson and Hattiesburg, plus 13 that serve the whole state. The most help we've found here is for people leaving homelessness (15) and after prison or jail (14).
Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence
The statewide coalition keeps a directory of every domestic violence shelter in Mississippi with each shelter's crisis line. Call the Jackson office or toll-free line to be pointed to the program covering your county, or use the national hotline after hours.
211 Mississippi Helpline
Free referral line covering all 82 Mississippi counties for food, housing and utility help, health care, crisis counseling, employment and family services. Dial 2-1-1 from any phone; the state reentry guide also lists a toll-free number.
Community Corrections Division and Resource Assistance Program
MDOC's community corrections staff supervise people on probation and parole from three regional offices and run a Resource Assistance Program that links people still under supervision to housing, ID, treatment and job resources. The department also publishes the Pathway to Re-entry guide, a statewide directory of services for people leaving prison.
Youth Transition Support Services
MDCPS program for current and former foster youth ages 14 to 26 that covers transitional living planning, aftercare resource connection after leaving care, post-secondary education support and monthly skills groups. A map of regional Transition Navigators with their contact details is posted on the page.
Stewpot Community Services
Jackson's largest homeless services agency: Billy Brumfield emergency shelter for men 18+ (intake 3 pm, beds at 4 pm, up to five nights a week) plus a 90-day transitional sober-living track, Matt's House shelter for women and women with children (18 guests, staffed 24/7), the Opportunity Center day shelter with laundry, mail and computers, daily meals, a legal clinic and a health clinic.
Gateway Rescue Mission
Downtown Jackson mission with emergency shelter for men over 21 (doors open 2:30 pm, first come first served, breakfast and dinner included), a free lunch at noon for anyone who is hungry, and the New Life Program, a faith-based non-clinical residential track for men overcoming addiction.
Jackson Victim Services
Emergency shelter of 30 to 45 days for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, Issaquena, Sharkey, Yazoo, Warren and Copiah counties, with a crisis line answered around the clock. A Rapid Re-Housing program helps DV survivors who have lost housing move into their own place.
Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence
Six-county Gulf Coast provider with emergency shelters in Biloxi and Pascagoula, transitional housing, counseling, court advocacy, a free civil legal clinic and a forensic medical clinic. It also offers emergency shelter and case management specifically for human trafficking survivors. Everything is free and confidential.
Advocates for Freedom
Gulfport-based anti-trafficking nonprofit that works across Mississippi on rescue and rehabilitation of trafficking victims, posts Freedom Boards along highways so victims can find help, and runs awareness training. For immediate danger it points to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Back Bay Mission
Biloxi's Micah Day Center serves people living unsheltered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings with showers, laundry, clothing, mail and phone access, help getting a birth certificate or Mississippi ID, and prescription assistance. A food pantry runs Wednesdays and Fridays, and a rent and utility fund opens online the first Tuesday of each month.
Seashore Mission Homeless Resource Center
Church-based day center in Biloxi open Sunday, Monday and Thursday mornings with two hot meals, showers and laundry sign-up, a Thursday food pantry, and volunteer case managers who help with ID and SNAP applications and connections to Medicaid and mental health care. A Wednesday-morning Redemption Ministry is specifically for people with criminal records.
Coordinated Entry
The single front door to housing programs in Harrison, Jackson, Hancock, Stone, George and Pearl River counties. Call, leave a message, and staff return the call within two business days to assess your situation and refer you to rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing or other resources; outreach teams also find people on the street daily.
Home of Grace
Faith-based residential addiction recovery program near the Gulf Coast with separate men's and women's campuses, offering 30- and 90-day programs and 6- or 12-month extended stays with counseling, classes and GED help. It does not take insurance; the stated starting cost is $4,000 for 30 days, with scholarships available through admissions.
DMH Helpline
Round-the-clock line for finding state-certified substance use treatment, peer support and mental health services anywhere in Mississippi. Mobile Crisis Response Teams run by community mental health centers respond in all 82 counties; call or text 988 for emotional crisis.
Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Free civil legal aid for low-income people in the 43 central and southern counties, including Hinds, Harrison and Forrest. Handles housing, benefits, family and consumer matters from offices in Jackson, Hattiesburg, Gulfport and McComb; apply through the toll-free intake line or online.
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Free civil representation for low-income people in Mississippi's northern 39 counties, with offices in Oxford, Clarksdale, Greenville and West Point. New clients call the intake center, which is staffed Monday through Thursday.
Bureau of Vital Records
Issues certified copies of Mississippi birth, death and marriage certificates online, by phone or at the Ridgeland customer service window. Call the same number to correct a record.
Identification Cards
State photo ID for anyone six or older, $17 for four years or $33 for eight. Bring an original birth certificate or other accepted document, two proofs of residency, a Social Security card or official document showing the full number, and legal paperwork for any name change.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
Monthly food benefits on an EBT card for low-income households. Apply online through the Access Mississippi portal or at your county MDHS office; you will be asked for proof of identity, residency and income, and the client services line answers questions.
Mississippi Division of Medicaid
Health coverage for children, pregnant women, low-income parents, and people who are aged, blind or disabled. Apply online at the Common Web Portal, by mail or fax, at one of 30 regional offices, or by calling the contact center to have an application mailed. Spanish-language applications are posted.
Hattiesburg Corps
Salvation Army community center on Highway 49 in Hattiesburg offering social services and emergency assistance. Call during office hours to ask what shelter, meal or financial help is currently available.
Edwards Street Fellowship Center
Hattiesburg nonprofit with a food pantry, a diaper bank, a pet food bank and a free health clinic on the same campus, plus a low-cost thrift store on Lincoln Road. Call the pantry office for current distribution hours.
National lines that work in Mississippi
SAMHSA National Helpline
Free, confidential treatment referral for substance use and mental health. Finds local programs that take your insurance or none.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for any mental health or substance use crisis. Available to anyone in any program.
Lifeline free phone program
Free or discounted phone and service for people on Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or low income. Apply online or through a carrier.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
24/7 confidential hotline for survivors of trafficking and people who suspect it. Connects to vetted local services.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
24/7 confidential help for anyone affected by domestic violence. Advocates connect you to local shelters and legal help.
Start right where you are
Each program has a step-by-step checklist for the first 72 hours, 30 days, and 90 days, so you always know your next step.