Who We Are
The APN has been meeting since the Fall of 1999. Since that time, over 300 organizations have participated in Network events. The Network includes individuals and groups from a variety of NJ communities & organizations, including advocacy groups, neighborhood organizations, labor unions, businesses, faith-based organizations, and other community agencies and networks. Participants are encouraged to present issues and proposals that they would like other groups to critique, endorse or consider for joint action. In addition, APN has itself, through discussion and collaboration, undertaken efforts and developed proposals which represent the consensus of participants. We are united by our commitment to ending poverty in NJ.
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Recent Accomplishments Of The Anti-Poverty Network:
1. At the December 2008 Conference of the APN, Governor Jon Corzine heard from a panel of low-income people who shared the stories of the reality of poverty in their own lives. Governor Corzine made public mention of these stories in testimony before a U.S. Congressional Committee hearing, and also spoke about them in his January 2009 "State of the State" address.
2. Testimony from the APN was included in the final report of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Issues, and APN leadership has been working with legislators in enacting recommendations from the panel.
3. APN joined with other coalitions in fighting to successfully remove proposed co-pays in Medicaid prescrip-tion drug coverage and we were also successful in advocating for the restoration of proposed cuts to New Jersey FamilyCare coverage for low-income parents.
4. Again working with partner organizations, APN worked to ensure that the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) was funded at the highest possible level, that grants to the state's emergency food program were main-tained, and that expansion of the Food Stamp program moved forward with appropriate state support.
5. We have been especially active in working to restore funding for Legal Services of New Jersey, so that it can continue to provide full and complete legal representation to low-income people.
6.In 2009, the APN met with the Chair of the Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald and raised our concerns about cash assistance grants for people living in poverty. This has led to on-going conversations aimed at changing policy and increasing grant amounts.