Op-Ed: Family Success and residents’ rights

State’s efforts to serve families and communities in need remain fragmented and inadequate

This is no ordinary time in our state – and in our country. Our state’s efforts to serve families and communities in need, to “level the playing field” of opportunity and well-being remain fragmented and inadequate. Too many families in our state are challenged to put food on the table, to afford secure housing, to access quality healthcare, child care or after school day care, to enjoy a modicum of financial security.

Into this destabilizing environment the federal government has injected draconian cuts to food, health, housing and education funding through its budget reconciliation act, with the prolonged federal government shutdown accelerating and amplifying its adverse impacts. Throughout this policy debate, infused with partisan vitriol, the voices of residents most affected are obscured. The whipsaw of uncertainty surrounding suspension of SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans, including 425,000 New Jersey residents, exemplifies a systemic indifference in our political discourse to hardships confronting too many.

The time for residents to stand up and be heard is now. Today there is a movement under way in New Jersey to raise the voices of residents and to get them a seat at the table where decisions affecting their well-being are made. On October 23rd, just days before this year’s state elections, 90 residents, advocates and activists assembled on Zoom for the first of its kind Rally for Residents’ Rights. Fifteen representatives of those families and communities from nine different counties raised their voices, sharing insights from their personal journeys.

Read the full article in NJ Spotlight News.