What to Expect

Each listening tour is an open, welcoming forum. Participants share personal experiences with Medicaid waivers, institutional care, and the challenges of navigating Georgia's long-term services and supports system. Coalition members listen, take notes, and collect suggestions that inform legislative priorities and action alerts.

These sessions are not formal hearings — they are community conversations. Families, self-advocates, direct support professionals, and allies are all encouraged to attend and speak.

The Unlock Coalition's listening tours are designed to reach every corner of Georgia, ensuring that no community is left unheard. Whether in a small town library, a community center, or a church fellowship hall, these gatherings create a welcoming space where people can share their stories openly. Families describe the daily challenges of navigating a system that keeps loved ones waiting for essential supports. Advocates speak about the emotional and financial toll of life without adequate home and community-based services. Every story shared becomes a vital piece of the advocacy puzzle, helping the coalition build a powerful case for change at the state Capitol.

Attending a listening tour is more than just showing up—it is an act of civic participation that directly influences policy. The insights gathered during these sessions are carefully documented and translated into concrete legislative priorities. Coalition members listen without judgment, taking notes on the specific barriers Georgians face, from workforce shortages to confusing eligibility processes. These firsthand accounts add human depth to the data on waiting lists and funding gaps. By centering the voices of people with disabilities and their families, the coalition ensures that its advocacy remains grounded in lived experience rather than abstract numbers alone.

For those who cannot attend in person, the coalition offers alternative ways to contribute their voice. Written submissions, recorded video messages, and phone calls are all accepted and treated with the same weight as in-person testimony. The listening tours also serve as an opportunity to connect attendees with broader advocacy networks, support resources, and upcoming action days at the Capitol. Each tour strengthens the sense of community among Georgians who share a common goal: a state where everyone can live, contribute, and thrive with the supports they need. The conversation does not end when the tour concludes—it continues in the halls of power.