In May 2021, The Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey united with New Jersey Citizen Action’s family of organizations.
The Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey is a statewide network committed to fighting poverty in New Jersey by empowering partners, educating the community, and advocating for solutions since it was founded in 1999.
Having often worked very closely and in tandem with NJCA, uniting our organizations allows APN to continue the phenomenal work it has achieved over the last two decades.
APN looks forward to continuing to provide a framework for discourse on the causes, effects, and remedies for poverty in New Jersey in joining forces with NJCA to fight for social, economic, and racial justice.
APN’s programs and reports are listed below
Garden State Leaders
The Garden State Leaders Program is a free, six-month-long leadership and advocacy training program for NJ residents with lived experience of homelessness and poverty. Throughout the program, we and our partners help participants learn to effectively tell their stories and further their advocacy goals. Each session focuses on a different topic such as effectively telling your story, working with the media, and more. Typically one session is held at the NJ State House in Trenton, with the opportunity to meet with legislators and to gain a better understanding of the legislative process in our state.
The goal is to help build the skills of people with lived experience of poverty to take on influential roles on issues pertinent to their lives and to connect them to advocacy opportunities throughout the state. These leadership roles include serving as Board of Trustees members of our own organizations as well as partner organizations in our networks. We’ve received significant positive feedback from our graduates. Several have noted that, in addition to helping them advocate for important causes, the program has helped them obtain employment, advance in their careers, and improve their social networks. We have also heard sentiments from many of New Jersey’s advocates, non-profit leaders, and elected officials on how valuable our leaders’ perspective has been toward making an impact on policies affecting populations experiencing poverty.
