Athens for Everyone

Where to Give Your Stimulus Check

Hillary Brown — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 00:34:00 +0000

Wondering what to do with the gov’t stimulus money that magically appeared in your bank account? If you’re financially stable, you may want to consider donating all or part of it to one or more of these local organizations and nonprofits, which are working to help those in our community who need it the most.

Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition and their Support for Immigrant Families in Crisis fund. Your donation will go to Support for Immigrant Families in Crisis (SIFIC) due to Covid illness and/or job loss. SIFIC’s Fondo Solidario has been distributing funds weekly since April 1 2020. Your donation will pay vitally needed rent and utilities. Three ways TO DONATE –
VIA WEBSITE: https://www.athensimmigrantrights.org/community-support/
MAIL CHECK: to SIFIC (memo, ACC CARES), 452 N. Billups St, Athens GA 30606
VENMO: @SIFIC

Bigger Vision Homeless Shelter provides a safe place to sleep and food for people experiencing homelessness.
https://biggervisionofathens.org/guest#wintershelterprogram

Food Bank of NE GA With more than 25 years of experience serving the community, the Food Bank distributed more than 13 million pounds of food last year to our fourteen county service area, through more than 225 partner organizations. For every $1 the Food Bank receives, they are able to distribute 4 meals.
https://foodbanknega.org/contact/donate/

Athens Community Council on Aging “ACCA Emergency Food Relief – By the Numbers
• 325,861 emergency food relief meals provided since March 16th
• 9,457 people served including ACCA’s existing clients, older adults within the community and Athens Eats Together recipients
• 11,500 safety checks, driveway visits and buddy calls made
We are concentrating ACCA’s resources into the meals-on-wheels model of service delivery, focusing on three areas: food and basic needs, security checks and virtual social connections for all we serve.”
https://www.accaging.org/support/donate/

Athens Area Homeless Shelter housed local families and provides many additional resources to help them get back on their feet. In addition, they help local families with food, grocery & school supplies, rent & utility assistance, and childcare. https://www.helpathenshomeless.org/donate

Mercy Health Center: Provides free healthcare for uninsured, low-income people in our community. https://mercyhealthcenter.net/donate.html

Family Connections of Athens -Communities in Schools: “We are in the field, interacting with kids, students and families, building vital relationships and serving their needs on a day-to-day basis. Our Neighborhood Leaders to work with residents in 16 different neighborhoods to help them access services and resources.”
http://fc-cis.org/donate/

Athens Mutual Aid provides funds, food and other needed things directly to people affected by COVID, without the hassles or restrictions of a nonprofit.
Venmo @mutualaidathens to have your money go directly towards helping an individual struggling during this time meet their needs (rent, groceries, etc.)
You can find out more about them here: https://www.athensmutualaid.net/

The post Where to Give Your Stimulus Check first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Call to Action: Stop This Sneaky Bullshit

Hillary Brown — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:49:53 +0000

Those are strong words, but you know what? They’re warranted. We’re now in the part of the yearly legislative session when the text of bills that have already passed one chamber starts being swapped out with the text of other bills that didn’t or that everyone already knows exist and are bad. The newest examples are SB 202, yet another voter suppression omnibus bill, and HB 289, which now contains the language of HB 171, essentially prohibiting legal protest.

Barry Fleming tacked on 50 new sections to SB 202, prohibiting things like giving food and water to people in line to vote, and didn’t even give anyone time to review it before it came before committee. It would let Georgians challenge the qualifications unlimited times of any person trying to register to vote, gumming up our electoral system. Voting rights groups are angry at this transparent attempt to stop the people from exercising their power to choose their leaders, and so are we. HB 531 and SB 241, which are similarly awful, are also still alive. Call the members of the House Special Committee on Election Integrity and let them know you’re outraged at the latest attempts to stop us from voting. Want to contact big Georgia corporations like Coca-cola and Delta, too? Go for it. The legislators trying to pass these bills have proved that they don’t want to listen to the people, so maybe they’ll listen to money? You can read more about SB 202 here, in the AJC.

HB 289 infringes on our First Amendment rights to gather peaceably and protest, which is exactly the route we’ll have to take if our votes no longer count. The ACLU’s Chris Bruce said, “What makes House Bill 289 even more concerning is the fact that we know from history that the people who will suffer the most if this legislation were to become law are people of color, as they are most often the targets of drastic law enforcement responses.” While the bill’s sponsor is now acting like the Capitol Riots have anything at all to do with his legislation, it would make blocking a highway during an “unlawful assembly” a felony, carrying a punishment of one to five years in prison and/or a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, and require people seeking to hold a protest, rally or other “assembly” to apply to their local government and receive approval before they could hold the event. Let your senators know you oppose this unconstitutional legislation.

There’s more, too! HB 286, Houston Gaines’ attempt to put Athens, which didn’t vote for him, under the thumb of the Georgia general assembly by taking away our power to make our own budget, is likely to pass the Senate as well as the house. Let your senators know you won’t stand for it.

A reminder: bills labeled HB started in the house but are now in the senate. Bills labeled SB started in the senate and are now in the house. You can see our full guide to the legislative session here.

The post Call to Action: Stop This Sneaky Bullshit first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Help End Citizens’ Arrests

Hillary Brown — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 01:23:42 +0000

Tomorrow (Monday, March 8, 2021) is Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly. That means it’s the last chance for bills to pass in either the state house or state senate and cross over to the other chamber. Any bill has to pass in both chambers before it goes to the governor to be signed, so a bill that hasn’t passed by end of day on Crossover Day is pretty much dead (until the following year). Lots of bad things have passed so far (voter suppression! taking budgeting control away from your local government!), and we still have a chance to kill them, but for now we’re going to focus on one thing that hasn’t passed either chamber yet: a bill that would (mostly) end the practice of citizens’ arrests.

HB 479 is something that actually has Brian Kemp’s blessing AND is bipartisan AND is a decent piece of legislation that might actually do something other than create yet another commemorative license plate. Inspired by the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by three white men who claimed they were pursuing a citizens’ arrest (insert eyeroll), it’s not as good a law as it could be, but it is a step in the right direction. It does still allow off-duty police offers to make arrests, and it allows some folks who own retail stores or other kinds of businesses to detain people on suspicion of shoplifting and the like, for a limited time, but it directs them not to use “force which is intended or likely to cause great bodily harm or death.”

One of the bill’s sponsors, Bert Reeves, said, “This balanced approach achieves meaningful reform to prevent acts of vigilantism.” The original law dates from the Civil War era and was written by T. R. R. Cobb (yes, the guy who lived in the pink house in Athens that’s currently near the Captain D’s), so you can guess that it was racist in its intentions, designed to give even more power to white people to terrorize Black people. Lynchings come directly out of citizens’ arrest. You can read more about that ugly history here.

So even if the current bill is being promoted by folks who talk a lot about “keeping our communities safe” and how much they adore police officers, it’s still a good thing and a step in the direction of criminal justice reform of the kind Kemp’s predecessor, Nathan Deal, pursued while in office.

Please contact your state legislator today and ask them to vote YES on HB 479. Don’t know who your legislator is? You can use this tool to find out. If you’re in the Athens area, it’s either Houston Gaines (R), Spencer Frye (D) or Marcus Wiedower (R).

The post Help End Citizens’ Arrests first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Vote NO on HB 150 & SB 102 – Removing Local Control over Energy Choice

Hillary Brown — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 00:49:02 +0000

The Georgia legislature is voting on two energy bills, HB 150 & SB 102, that are aimed at preventing Georgia cities from achieving their green energy goals. The bills will restrict the rights of local governments to decide what types of energy can be used in their jurisdictions by preventing municipalities from adopting building codes and other policies that dictate the type of energy used in homes and businesses.

These restrictions will effectively make it harder for communities to decide to move toward clean energy plans, such as a lower carbon footprint or going carbon-free, as they mandate reliance on outdated fossil fuels. Five major cities in Georgia, including Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Clarkston and Savannah, have all pledged to move toward 100 percent clean energy to protect their citizens and the planet. The fossil fuel industry is getting scared and launching a coordinated attack. These bills are a direct assault on cities choosing a healthier future, and we need to speak out!

Local governments know their residents’ needs better than a broad, over-reaching state bill, and the state should not limit their power in order to suck up to the natural gas industry and increase our reliance on harmful fossil fuels. Additionally, energy-efficient buildings save consumers money over the long run and are better for the health of residents. Consumers have little ability to choose energy sources after the infrastructure is built. These bills are clearly aimed at limiting environmental goals, not helping consumers. There is no reason for these bills to pass other than to line the natural gas industry’s pockets.

HB 150 has already passed the house (with local reps. Houston Gaines and Marcus Wiedower voting in favor of it), so we need you to contact your state senator. In Athens, that’s either Bill Cowsert at 404-463-1366 (in Atlanta), 706-543-7700 (in Athens) or bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov or Frank Ginn at 404-656-4700, 706-680-4466 or frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov. Don’t know who your legislator is? You can find out at https://www.legis.ga.gov/find-my-legislator.

Contact your state senator today! Tell them to Vote NO on HB 150 & SB 102.

Suggested script:

“Hello, my name is {NAME} and I am from {CITY}. I am calling today to encourage you to vote NO on HB 150 and SB 102. Local governments should have the power to listen to their residents’ desire for a healthier future by focusing on clean energy goals. Removing local control is not the answer. I hope you will vote no on these bills. Thank you.”

The post Vote NO on HB 150 & SB 102 – Removing Local Control over Energy Choice first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Help Lobby Against Voter Suppression

Hillary Brown — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 01:33:19 +0000

The Georgia State Legislature is in full swing, and GOP legislators are working hard to make voting a real pain in the ass for everyone. Because Republicans lost fair and square in statewide elections recently, these sore losers think that if fewer people vote they’ll win again. So they’re proposing a whole slew of changes to create more roadblocks to voting. Their proposed changes will make voting less convenient for all voters but will especially inconvenience seniors, Black people and anybody who works during the week.

Multiple audits and studies have confirmed that our voting systems are secure and that voter fraud is not a real problem. Our legislature should be working to make it easier for all voters to participate in democracy — not making it harder, as the Republicans are doing.

This assault on voting is undemocratic, and we’ve got to stop it. We need to make our voices heard NOW (and probably repeatedly), until the Georgia General Assembly’s session ends April 2, which is only about five weeks away. By contacting our legislators, we can help steer our state in the right direction.

Please contact your state senator and state house representative, and ask them to OPPOSE all bills that make it more difficult to vote. These bills could get a floor vote this week, so let’s make our voices heard!

CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR

First of all, please contact your state senator to ask them to vote NO on:

SB 67, which would require the submission of IDs to be able to vote absentee. This bill has already passed through committee and will get a full vote from the Senate, possibly this week. Some reasons we don’t need this:

1. The people most likely to use absentee ballots are less likely to have traditional ID (a driver’s license), either because of disability or age.

2. Elderly voters are traditionally Republican, so this erodes both parties’ support.

3. There is no evidence of fraud with mail-in ballots. Recent audits prove that the current system works well.

4. When voters vote in-person, the poll workers can compare the photo ID to the person present. There’s no way to do that with mail-in ballots, which is part of why requiring it makes no sense.

There are other reasons, too, but these are a good start when you’re trying to figure out what to say.

SB 71 would strictly limit the people allowed to use absentee ballots. Thirty-four states allow any qualified voter to vote absentee; Georgia can continue to do that, too. This bill has not passed out of committee, but just in case it does, tell your senator to vote NO on SB 71.

In the Athens area, your state senator is Sen. Bill Cowsert: (404) 463-1366 or (706) 543-7700, bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov or

Sen. Frank Ginn (404) 656-4700 or (706) 680-4466, frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov

If you’re not sure who your state reps are, look here: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE

In the state house, we need to tell our reps to vote NO on HB 270 and HB 531.

HB 270 would make it so elections offices have to mail out absentee ballots at least 11 days before an election, which means people would have to order them even earlier.

HB 531 is a giant voter-suppression mess. It would: restrict absentee voting, limit the use of mobile voting units and ban counties from holding early voting on Sundays, often called “souls to the polls,” which is popular with Black voters. Other provisions in the measure: a requirement for photo ID for absentee voting (see above for why this is a bad idea), a more limited timeframe for voters to request absentee ballots and restrictions on where ballot drop boxes could be placed.

ACC and Oconee people, especially if your house rep is Houston Gaines (Dist. 117), please be sure to contact him, because he is on the Special Committee on Election Integrity, which decides what bills move to the House floor for a vote.

ACC-area House Reps are: Houston Gaines (117) (404) 656-0298 or houston.gaines@house.ga.gov.

Spencer Frye (118) (404) 656-0265 or spencer.frye@house.ga.gov

Marcus Wiedower (119) (404) 656-0325 or marcus.wiedower@house.ga.gov.

EFFECTIVENESS TIP: If you are a constituent of a state senator or state representative, make sure to mention that in your call or email and include your name and address.

The post Help Lobby Against Voter Suppression first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Call to Action: Protect Local Budgeting Control

Hillary Brown — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 15:00:48 +0000

Houston Gaines and Marcus Wiedower want you to think they’re moderates, but the most recent bill they’re cosponsoring strips budgeting control from the Athens-Clarke County Commission. House Bill 286 says that county governing authorities would be unable to reduce the budget of their police force by more than 5 percent over a period of TEN years. Obviously, this likely unconstitutional, grandstanding bill is designed to kneecap ideas like the 50/10 Plan to Reimagine Public Safety, which would redirect money from the ACCPD to city services that would have a far greater effect on combatting crime.

Two of the bill’s other four co-sponsors also represent counties that have their own police force, which makes this bill a transparent attempt by the general assembly to assert control over local jurisdictions when they don’t like what those communities are doing with their budgets. Whether or not you agree with calls to defund the police (we do!), this kind of overreach should be concerning. Gaines and Wiedower are supposed to represent their constituents, not overrule them. Whether or not this bill is likely to pass, it is dangerously antidemocratic, and you should let them hear about it. You can reach Gaines’ office at (404) 656-0298 or via email at houston.gaines@house.ga.gov. Wiedower is at (404) 656-0325 and marcus.wiedower@house.ga.gov.

Here’s a suggested script:

Dear Rep. Gaines/Wiedower:

I am deeply concerned by your sponsoring HB286, which attempts to strip control over local budgets from their governing bodies. Whether or not you agree with calls to defund the police, this bill is a dangerous precedent because it removes control over an important aspect of city/county governance from duly elected officials in those communities. Please think about how you would feel were the shoe on the other foot and redirect your attention to legislation that your constituents have requested.

Sincerely,

Your name
Your address

You can find your representative here. The bill is in the Governmental Affairs committee, the members of which are listed here.

The post Call to Action: Protect Local Budgeting Control first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Please make your voice heard to help protect our vote!

Hillary Brown — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 14:30:25 +0000

With Georgia turning blue, one of the Republicans’ highest priorities in the current general assembly session is making it harder to vote. They want to eliminate “no cause” requests for absentee ballots. They want to require a photocopy of the voter’s ID to be sent in with the absentee ballot AND with the request for one. They want to eliminate drop boxes. And they want to end automatic voter registration when getting a driver’s license. These are just some of the nine bills proposed so far that would make it harder to vote, all without cause. Voter fraud is not a real issue. Voter suppression is.

You can read more about the specifics of the bills here: https://www.ajc.com/…/OBTWL3M6MJH25MI56XGNNUODPY/…

These bills have been proposed in the Georgia Senate, so the first people to contact are those in the Senate Ethics Committee, as they’ll be the first to review and discuss the bills. That committee will meet this Thursday, February 4, at 8 a.m., so please contact them before then. Then contact your own state representative and senator. Here are the emails of the Senate Ethics Committee: max.burns@senate.ga.gov, dean.burke@senate.ga.gov, harold.jones@senate.ga.gov, jason.anavitarte@senate.ga.gov, gloria.butler@senate.ga.gov, mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov, steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov, ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov, sally.harrell@senate.ga.gov, bo.hatchett@senate.ga.gov, butch.miller@senate.ga.gov, randy.robertson@senate.ga.gov, brian.strickland@senate.ga.gov.

Here’s some suggested text. Please adapt into your own words, particularly your feelings and experiences regarding access to absentee ballots, drop boxes, automatic voter registration, etc. Personal stories help!

To the Members of the Senate Ethics Committee,

We all know that Georgia’s November election results were counted three times, including once by hand, and no significant irregularities or fraud were found. The 2,600 uncounted votes that were found were caused by human error, not fraud. All accusations of fraud were effectively rebutted.

As for absentee ballots, the GBI investigators who audited the signatures on more than 15,000 absentee ballot envelopes in Cobb County found “no fraudulent absentee ballots,” according to the audit report. Secretary of State Raffensberger said, “This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia’s signature match processes.”

Please don’t “fix” something that isn’t broken. We had record-breaking turnout of Georgia voters, both on the Republican and Democratic sides, and that’s a good thing. We need to continue to make the vote accessible to all legal Georgia voters.

It’s especially important to continue to allow no-excuse absentee ballots. These are essential for those who work more than one job, have children or elderly parents to care for, don’t have private transportation to polling places, suffer from a chronic illness, or are trying to limit their exposure to others during the pandemic.

There were no problems with our secure, absentee ballot drop boxes, which remain popular with voters of both parties, and those need to continue to be easily accessible. Nor is there a need for photo ID verification to be submitted with absentee ballots. As the extensive audit proved, the signature match program works. Five states conduct their entire elections by mail, and have for years. Additionally, the program to automatically register Georgia residents when they get a driver’s license has been a big success. Please don’t create hurdles to exercising our right to vote just because some people weren’t happy with the outcome of some elections.

Thank you for your work to protect and expand voter rights, and help our elections to be organized and secure, for all Georgians.

Sincerely,
your name
your address

Now please contact your own state house representative and senator. You can find their contact info here: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/. If you want to really make your voice count, both call and email! Houston Gaines, the state house representative for one third of Athens, is on the House Special Committee on Election Integrity, so he’s especially important to contact if he’s your representative.

The post Please make your voice heard to help protect our vote! first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

Call to Action: Advocate for Georgia Public Health Funding!

Hillary Brown — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 01:31:45 +0000

If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that investing in public health makes us all stronger and safer. Gov. Kemp has proposed a 2022 budget that includes only a 0.3% (less than $900k) increase in our state’s public health budget. Georgia’s public health infrastructure has long been underfunded. We’re 37th among states for public health spending, and if lawmakers go along with this budget, Georgia will be spending 13% less per resident on public health than it did a decade ago, despite the pandemic.

Please contact your lawmakers to ask them to make funding our Department of Public Health a serious priority. (Much of this text was taken from Dr. Amber Schmidtke’s public health blog: https://amberschmidtkephd.substack.com/)

Contact information

Please contact the members of the Georgia House and Senate appropriations subcommittees that will determine the budget allocation for the DPH. Non-committee representatives and senators then get to vote up or down on what the committee recommends. The subcommittees are vitally important.

Members of the House Health Subcommittee on Appropriations

Debbie Buckner (404-656-0116 or 706-269-3630)
Matt Dollar (404-463-7853)
Lee Hawkins (404-656-7855)
Carolyn Hugley (404-656-0109)
Butch Parrish (404-463-2246 or 478-237-3838)
Jesse Petrea (404-656-7857 or 912-629-2468)
Ron Stephens (404-656-5115 or 912-596-1998)
Darlene Taylor (404-656-7857 or 229-225-9943)

You can send an email to them all at once by copying and pasting these into your recipients line: debbie.buckner@house.ga.gov, matt.dollar@house.ga.gov, lee.hawkins@house.ga.gov, carolyn.hugley@house.ga.gov, butch.parrish@house.ga.gov, jesse.petrea@house.ga.gov, ron.stephens@house.ga.gov, darlene.taylor@house.ga.gov

Members of the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for Human Development and Public Health

Dean Burke (404-656-0040 or 229-243-6267)
Emanuel Jones (404-656-0502 or 770-294-3020)
Kay Kirkpatrick (404-656-3932 or 404-656-3932)
Butch Miller (404-656-6578)
Nan Orrock (404-463-8054 or 404-524-5999)
Lindsey Tippins (404-657-0406 or 770-424-2700)
Ben Watson (404-656-7880 or 912-527-5100)

Emails:
dean.burke@senate.ga.gov, emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov, kay.kirkpatrick@senate.ga.gov, butch.miller@senate.ga.gov, nan.orrock@senate.ga.gov, lindsey.tippins@senate.ga.gov, ben.watson@senate.ga.gov

What to say

Here’s a suggested script for what to say when you call or email subcommittee members. These are the people you need to contact most right now. Feel free to modify the script, especially if you have had personal impacts from COVID-19 or other public health concerns.

Hi, my name is (____) and I am a registered voter who lives at (____). I’m contacting you today to ask you to consider increased funding for the Georgia Department of Public Health, above the Governor’s budget request, since you’re a member of the (House or Senate << say which!)) appropriations subcommittee that oversees DPH. This pandemic has highlighted the need for us to shore up public health infrastructure from top to bottom so that we can combat not just COVID-19 but many other areas where Georgia lags behind other states. Thank you for your time and your service to the state.

Phone calls are typically more impactful than emails, but you can do either or both. When you contact these individuals, know you’re a number being counted. So you can count once via email, or you can count 2 or 3 times if you email, call their capitol office and call their district office. You can count on multiple days, too. When you call, remember that you will be speaking to a staffer, not the elected official themselves. They are there to take a message. So please be polite and respectful. The same is true for email.

If you want to, you can also contact your own state house representative and senator (you can find yours here):

Hi, my name is (____). I’m a registered voter and one of your constituents who lives at (____). I’m contacting you because I’m very concerned about the state of public health in Georgia. This pandemic has highlighted the need for us to shore up public health infrastructure from top to bottom so that we can combat not just COVID-19 but many other areas where Georgia lags behind other states. I’ve been in touch with members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees that determine the budget for the Georgia Department of Public Health and asked that they increase funding for public health. Please do all within your power to support increased funding for the DPH as well. Thank you for your time and your service to the state.

Receiving these contacts from their constituents is going to make your representative and/or senator take notice. It signals that you’re serious not just about public health, but about voting. Again, be respectful. Hopefully our collective efforts work. When that time comes, we’ll do this again, but to thank the members for their support of public health. We need that support not just for this year but the years to come.

The post Call to Action: Advocate for Georgia Public Health Funding! first appeared on Athens for Everyone.

5th Annual MLK Day Caravan Parade & Music Fest

Grace Ferzely — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 17:10:20 +0000

WHEN: Monday, January 18 at 3 PM
WHERE: Downtown Athens

MORE INFO: https://www.aadmovement.org/calendar/mlk-day-parade-and-music-fest/

To honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, and to promote unity and justice, the Athens Anti-Discrimination MovementAthens Anti-Discrimination Movement and the United Group of Artists Music Association are proud to host the 5th annual MLK Day Caravan Parade and Music Fest5th annual MLK Day Caravan Parade and Music Fest!

The parade will begin at 3 PM in front of the Morton Theatre, on the corner of Hull and Washington Street. After the parade, stick around for the Honoree Ceremony at 4 PM, featuring African American elders and pioneers of Athens, Georgia! Social distancing will be encouraged – don’t forget your masks. Free and open to public spectators!

If you are interested in entering a vehicle in the parade, please visit:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/5th-athens-mlk-day-parade-and-music-fest-2021-tickets-92606585791

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