Your Voice Needed for Bill to Ban Retaliatory Evictions
Georgia Appleseed has been
leading the charge
on
HB 346
,
which would ban retaliatory evictions. If the bill passes, renters can't be served with eviction papers just for filing complaints about unhealthy and unsafe living conditions.
Unhealthy housing especially affects children. Mold and pest infestations and other dangerous conditions lead to injuries and chronic lifelong illnesses, like asthma. Georgia tenants are often evicted if they complain. After eviction, families have a harder time finding a place to live, children are forced to change schools, and families are forced into less stable and less desirable housing.
We ask that you
contact your Senator
and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge them to VOTE YES on HB 346.
More details on the action we're asking folks to take can be
found here
and
here
.
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Good Apple Is Just Around the Corner: April 24
It's almost
Good Apple
time! We want to thank all of our 2019 sponsors, including a special shout-out to our lead sponsors. Without your support, we couldn't do the amazing things we do all year.
If you'd like to attend Good Apple on
April 24, 2019
, at
The Stave Room
at American Spirit Works (199 Armour Drive NE), you can
buy tickets online
. Cocktail hour starts at 5:45 p.m.
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Good Apple Honoree Spotlight: Dr. Garry McGiboney & the PBIS Team of Georgia
If someone asked you to tell them about your experience in school, what would you think about first? Most likely it wouldn’t be about math or history, but something more visceral.
“Seldom will an adult recall courses or class schedules,” writes 2019 Good Apple honoree
Dr. Garry McGiboney i
n the introduction of his book
The Psychology of School Climate
, “but they will recall the condition of the school, how many friends they had or did not have, the smell of the school, how they felt walking into the school....Those retrievals from memory are school climate-based. That is how profound school climate is.”
Georgia Appleseed has partnered with Dr. McGiboney and PBIS Georgia to improve school climate in school districts across the state, particularly in Bibb, Muscogee, Dougherty, and Richmond counties. Georgia Appleseed also convenes the Georgia Education Climate Coalition, which has been a galvanizing force for statewide school climate reforms.
Read more on our website
about Dr. McGiboney and how Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports affect school climate. Dr. McGiboney and the
PBIS Team of Georgia
will be honored on
April 24, 2019
, at the
2019 Good Apple event
, along with honorees
EY
and the
Child Protection and Advocacy Section of the State Bar of Georgia.
Photo by Unsplash
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Student Tribunal Training
Georgia Appleseed has had great momentum in 2018-19 with its
Student Tribunal project
, which began in 2013! Due to the generosity of the Georgia Bar Foundation and others, members of our
Young Professionals Council
(YPC) led a training on March 11, 2019, for lawyers to learn how to represent foster children at tribunals.
Tribunals are disciplinary proceedings where children face long-term suspension or expulsion from school. A
dditionally, with the Bar Foundation funding, the organization has had active staff engagement and dramatically increased the number of cases in which it has matched children to attorneys. We value our YPC
members who have been the backbone of this project since the beginning.
YOU can help kids in foster care be successful by helping them stay in school—please direct DFCS caseworkers and foster parents you know to this
referral link
f
or representation if their student is facing a discipline tribunal!
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Bringing People Together
On March 13, 2019, more than 50 parents, judges, and advocates gathered in courtroom 4B at the Fulton County Juvenile Court for an interactive panel discussion, "
Advocating for Your Child: Resources and Strategies for Challenging Behaviors.
"
"There was a lot of hurt and need in the room," says Georgia Appleseed Executive Director Talley Wells. "I was encouraged by the collaborative energy." This event was the third in a slate of events, partly funded by Fulton County Board of Commissioners, under the guidance of the Fulton County Department of Community Development, that focuses on behavioral health.
The events will include both public discussions and trainings that target specific stakeholders, including foster parents, attorneys, and caseworkers.
The next big event will be offered in partnership with The Carter Center and Voices for Georgia's Children on
April 15, 2019
.
The Atlanta School Based Behavioral Health Regional Forum
will highlight the great work that is already being done in the region and facilitate discussion among key stakeholders and community members about the greatest barriers to school-based behavioral health and their potential solutions.
Learn more.
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O
n February 21, 2019, Georgia Appleseed was a proud partner of
Alpha Day at the Capitol
, an annual event sponsored by the Georgia District of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Together, we are keeping Georgia children in school and out of the criminal justice system. Pictured:
Dr. Will Simmons
—Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Georgia District Political Action Chairman;
Dr. Henry Ponder
—Past National President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., 28th National President;
Benny Hand
—Georgia District Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. President;
Talley Wells
, Georgia Appleseed Executive Director;
Ira Foster
—Legal Adviser and Chair of the Georgia District’s School Dropout Prevention Initiative
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Deadlines & Opportunities
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April 15—School Based Behavioral Health Atlanta Regional Forum
:
Georgia Appleseed, Voices for Georgia’s Children and The Carter Center Mental Health Program will be hosting a forum on school based behavioral health, including accessing services, best practices, and how schools and the community can work together.
Learn more.
April 24
—
2019 Good Apple
: Next month, we'll gather for our annual event to recognize our 2019 honorees for their work and collaboration with Georgia Appleseed and to look ahead to another year of working toward justice.
Sponsorships are still available!
Contact Abi Gross at [email protected] or (678) 336-7242 for more information.
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Want to learn more about some of the ideas and issues mentioned in this newsletter? We got you covered!
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