DRIVE Communities

The DRIVE pilot program brings together eight small towns seeking to catalyze sustainable economic growth across the Mississippi River Delta region. While ranging in population from under 1,000 to just over 10,000 residents, these communities share a strong sense of pride in their history and culture. The participating towns include Eudora, AR; Helena-West Helena, AR; Osceola, AR; Hazlehurst, MS; Port Gibson, MS; Tunica, MS; Brownsville, TN; and Whiteville, TN.

 

Each town offers unique assets from agriculture, aquaculture, and recreation to the arts, history, and ecotourism. Eudora leverages the world's largest minnow farm to support its fishing industry. Helena-West Helena has a thriving blues culture and hosts the annual King Biscuit Blues Festival. Tunica built a robust casino resort tourism economy. Though starting from different vantages, these communities are united in overcoming economic challenges and desire for growth.

 

Through DRIVE, the eight towns will learn collaboratively while still tailoring solutions to their distinctive needs. The cohort-based program will provide grant writing expertise, data analysis, and facilitation to access resources and partnerships. By participating together, these Delta communities can share knowledge while harnessing innovation and cultivating equity on their respective roads to revitalization. Their journey will illuminate new models for economic empowerment across the region.