For more information, including how to apply:
HYLA Junior High Program
HYLA High School Program
HYLA High School Class of 2026
Donate through Venmo by searching @HancockHRC under “Charities”
or mail a check payable to the Hancock Resource Center.
or mail a check payable to the Hancock Resource Center.
HYLA High School Class of 2025 Slideshow
The Hancock Resource Center began as an initiative of the Hancock Community Development Foundation and the Hancock Chamber in response to Hurricane Katrina-related housing needs. Yet, as those needs have changed over time, the work of the HRC has shifted more toward addressing the underlying factors that cause housing instability and toward efforts to interrupt cyclical patterns that keep families, particularly our next generation, from developing their full potential. In January 2012, the Hancock Resource Center (HRC) launched the Hancock Youth Leadership Academy (HYLA) thanks to a seed grant from Neighborworks America and matching funds from The First, A National Banking Association. HYLA commenced its first such initiative with a pilot for eighth graders from all four junior high schools in the county, a tremendously successful program that has become the model for the programs developed since that time. The Hancock Youth Leadership Academy launched its first high school program in January 2013. The high school program is a more traditional program that targets identified leaders in the 11th grade from all Hancock County high schools including Bay High School, Hancock High School, Our Lady Academy and St. Stanislaus College as well as their home-schooled equivalents.
2025 HYLA Sponsors
The Hancock Youth Leadership Academy extends sincere appreciation to our 2025 sponsors:
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Mary Beth Benvenutti, HRC Board
JP Compretta, Attorney at Law Brehm Bell, Attorney at Law Bailey Braswell, Edward Jones Investments Chemours DeLisle Chiniche Engineering and Survey Clement Benvenutti, Attorney at Law Coast Electric Power Association Alpek Polyester Mississippi Elise Deano, Attorney at Law Diamondhead Dental Clinic Kile Foster, Edward Jones Investments Hancock County Chamber of Commerce JEM, LLC Neel-Shaffer Jay McKnight, MS State Representative Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis Jindal Tubular USA, LLC L3Harris Mississippi Power Company SABIC Innovative Plastics 
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Mississippi Power Company
Rolls-Royce Silver Slipper Casino Southgroup Insurance Services Triton Systems, Inc. Waveland Walmart Million Air Stennis Bert and Murray Keel, DMD Shane Finley-Councilmember/Diamondhead Rotary Club of Central Hancock County Shore Thing Fishing Charters Mike Meyers State Farm Coastal Daiquiri Bar & Grill Ace's Dog Academy Kile Foster, Edward Jones Investments Hancock Whitney Mayley's Pest Control Services Ochsner Health Super Clean Services Community Bank The Mystic Krewe of the Seahorse Cornett Bolt and Screw 
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HYLA would not be possible without the support from our local schools.
Bay/Waveland School District: Bay/Waveland Middle School and Bay High School
Hancock County School District: Hancock Middle School and Hancock High School
Our Lady Academy
Saint Stanislaus College
Hancock County School District: Hancock Middle School and Hancock High School
Our Lady Academy
Saint Stanislaus College
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