By Phoebe Judge, Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Editor's Note: The text below is a transcript of a news item that originally appeared on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Hear the original broadcast here.

A new network on the Gulf Coast is bringing leaders together to form a type of community brain trust. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

The idea behind the Gulf Coast Sustainable Communities Network is a simple, what can we learn from each. Facilitated by the Institute for Sustainable Communities a non-profit group based in Vermont, the network includes leaders from struggling communities from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana. Betty Weiss is the director for community initiatives for the Institute for Sustainable Communities,

“Each of these communities has an amazing story, and an amazing history. It would be a real loss if these communities disappeared. So the first line of defense is looking to your neighbors who are in a similar situation saying, you know what can we do together, how can we band together, how can we share ideas and strategies . We’re the ones who know best about what’s happening in our communities, what the challenges are, and how to deal with those challenges.”

Aneice Liddell is the Alderwoman at large for Moss Point, she says there are many commonalities between the communities represented.

"There are other things that I think that we can pick up from one another. There may be someone here who may be able to assist us in Moss Point. That we may be able to do some collaborative work. I mean why reinvent the wheel if they already have got it going on."

The network plans on meeting quarterly, rotating each time to a different network community. For MPB News, I'm Phoebe Judge in Gulfport.