The GLAAD Media Institute, the training, research and consulting arm of GLAAD, hosted a conference with Atlanta local leaders and community advocates at Atlanta City Hall, hosted by the City of Atlanta as part of its education and advocacy programs across the country. Participants who complete a GLAAD Media Institute program or session are instantly considered GLAAD Media Institute graduates and are empowered to use their own stories for culture change and maximize their impact in their communities.
For Rep. Park Cannon (Dis. 58), a GLAAD Media Institute alumna, one of the main issues in this voting cycle concerns Georgia voters who do not have a fixed address. The resulting problem is that voters without a fixed address can be arrested if they camp out on public land, including polling places.
HB 976, a bill that passed the Georgia House and Senate and was recently signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, suggests amendments that could affect homeless people’s voting rights. Specifically, the bill provides that if a voter is homeless and does not have a permanent address, they will be prohibited from receiving their mail-in ballot or election information at a shelter or alternative temporary address. The bill also requires that homeless people use the Fulton County Registrar’s Office as their address.
Councilman Park Cannon hugs Councilman Liliana Bakhtiari outside the City Council Building. Photo by Jeriya.
“How can I accept that now I can only vote in one election? If I’m in a place where I’m allowed to vote, my precinct is the Fulton County Government Center, but I could be in another place,” Cannon emphasized to interviewer Victor Jackson during a fireside chat in April. Jackson is an Atlanta native who is also known as a creative director and musical performance artist.
Artist Jackson is the founder of Mr. Glam Rock Soul Entertainment Group, where he has “led countless creatives on their journey from idea to innovation.” Jackson approached the interview wanting to “just have a conversation” between individuals, and that’s what he delivered. An artist and activist who frequently organizes and supports GLAAD, Jackson brought his Atlanta knowledge and pride to the interview. The day before, Jackson had delivered a media training session for Atlanta-based LGBTQ activists, with a particular focus on HIV.
Victor Jackson sits in the Atlanta City Council Town Hall, photo by Jerija.
Cannon, Jackson’s esteemed guest, sat alongside her good friend, City Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari, who has served on the City Council since 2021 and is the first queer Muslim elected in Georgia.
More than 40 people sat in the City Council chambers to listen to Jackson interview Park and Bakhtiari, with Jackson urging homeless voters and audience members to contact his office so they can organize their voter registration.
In Atlanta, more than 3,000 young people have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness. Of these young people, 40% identify as LGBTQ, according to a report by Atlanta nonprofit Covenant House. Many of these young people are of voting age.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that local governments can crack down on homeless people sleeping on public land, finding that enforcement of a generally applicable law against camping on public land does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
More recently, a source close to GLAAD, who requested anonymity for safety and security reasons, said the Grants Pass ruling helped spur the city of Atlanta’s passage of SB 62, which “prohibits hospitals, local governments, and local agencies from dropping off a homeless individual in a county other than the individual’s county of residence.”
Homeless people, who are required to report their legal address to the Fulton County Government Center, could be arrested for staying overnight to vote without a shelter to return to or transportation to get back to the address listed on their old driver’s license.
Aubri Escalera is interviewed by Gabe Gonzalez during Atlanta City Council Town Hall. Photo by Jeriya.
As a safety precaution, Rep. Cannon also asked those affected to contact Aubri Escalera, Legislative Assistant and LGBTQ Liaison for Rep. Cannon’s office. Escalera helped organize the two-day event and was interviewed by Gabe Gonzalez, comedian, television writer, and consultant to the GLAAD Media Institute’s Spanish-Language and Latino Media team. Gonzalez is also the host of the GLAAD Original series “DÃmelo,” which highlights the experiences of Latino LGBTQ comedians and celebrities in entertainment and media.
What we can directly help is [voters] You may have to register and re-register. You may be told you are not eligible. [to vote] Or they’ll be kicked out or have to show up to prove their eligibility,” said Cannon. Cannon’s plan is to challenge the bill, HB 976, before the general election.
In conversation with Gonzalez, Escalera spoke about how asylum applications, documentation, and the ability to prove professional status impact homelessness. Barriers are higher depending on race, origin, ability, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Additionally, according to GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide for News Organizations, LGBTQ youth are at 120% higher risk of homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth.
“How can we provide a toolkit for marginalized people, but also for new arrivals and asylum seekers?” Escalera asks. “It’s hard. It’s hard being in a country where you don’t know the language. It can be hard, but it’s even harder when you’re in a country where you know the language but you don’t have the resources.”
Aubri Escalera listens to questions from Gabe Gonzales. Photo by Jeriya
Escalera and Cannon are co-founders of Trans Power in Diversity, whose mission is to help the LGBTQ community “remain at the center, not at the mercy of those on the periphery, so they can reach their full potential to succeed in life and pursue happiness.”
The organization helps people find clothing for job interviews, safe-sex resources, support groups, health and wellness support, and more.
“When we plan our city, we prioritize the people who are most overlooked,” City Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari told Jackson in April. Bakhtiari has worked in war zones, helping people flee civilian violence. She said there are neighborhoods across the country that are worse off than war zones. She cited San Francisco’s Tenderloin as an example. The neighborhood, she said, needs the attention of all public officials.
But “Atlanta is in a unique position,” Bakhtiari said. The councilman noted that the city has a capital city, bipartisan support and a pilot program of neighborhood case managers, where case managers work with the same communities every day. Now, Bakhtiari is working to build a state ID program for unlicensed and housing-insecure people. In fact, this ID could help them find housing, food and jobs.
Cannon, Escalera and Bakhtiari are urging Georgians, especially those in the Greater Atlanta area, to contact them if they need assistance with housing, jobs, food, identification or voting information.
For more information about Atlanta’s housing programs, visit Atlanta Housing.
To learn more about GLAAD Media Institute’s role in community gatherings and what this year’s election means for the LGBTQ community at large, visit GLAAD.org/VOTE.
