02/06/2026
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🚨 URGENT: Georgia’s Recovery System is Being Built Right Now—And It’s Leaving People Behind. 🚨
The Georgia State Legislature is fast-tracking House Bill 657. This bill will define the legal standards for every Recovery Community Organization (RCO) in our state. While professionalizing peer support is a major victory, there is a dangerous gap in the draft: It is silent on accessibility.
As the Executive Director of BAIN, Inc. and a Peer Specialist in long-term recovery, I am sounding the alarm. There is NO recovery without ACCESSIBILITY.
Why is this a fight worth having? Because 1 in 4 Georgians lives with a disability.
* If a recovery center isn’t wheelchair accessible, you are locking the door on 25% of the community.
* If recovery apps and materials aren’t compatible with screen readers like JAWS or VoiceOver, you are silencing the Blind recovery community.
* If the "Lived Experience" on an RCO board doesn’t include a cross-disability perspective, it is not a full picture of recovery.
True professionalism in recovery requires a commitment to the whole person. If a program is not accessible to every Georgian—regardless of how they move, see, hear, or process information—it is not a solution; it is a barrier.
We must act NOW to ensure HB 657 reflects the reality of the 1-in-4 Georgians living with disabilities. Recovery must not be a privilege for the few; it must be an accessible reality for all!
—don't leave accessibility out of the law.