NJ South Asians gather for Trenton Advocacy Day

NEW JERSEY: Over 20 South Asian advocates, community activists, students and service providers gathered March 16 at the New Jersey State House for South Asian Advocacy Day to advocate for effective policies that address the needs of community members.

NEW JERSEY: Over 20 South Asian advocates, community activists, students and service providers gathered March 16 at the New Jersey State House for South Asian Advocacy Day to advocate for effective policies that address the needs of community members.

"With a population of over 200,000 statewide, New Jersey's South Asian community is vibrant and growing," said Qudsia Raja, New Jersey Outreach Coordinator at South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a non-profit organization that organized the Advocacy Day. "South Asian Advocacy Day brought community members to Trenton in order to meet with and inform legislators about policy concerns."

Participants began the day with a training provided by SAALT to build advocacy skills and share information about the issues faced by South Asians in New Jersey. During the course of the day, they met with a number of state legislators including Senator Barbara Buono, Assemblyman Jerry Green, Senator Gerald Cardinale, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon Jr. and Assemblywoman Connie Wagner.

Moving forward, participants are planning to continue their efforts to advocate for policies that benefit all New Jersey residents. These include policies to eliminate bias and discrimination, particularly in schools; greater linguistic access to critical services provided by hospitals, courts and police departments; and measures that welcome the diverse immigrant communities of New Jersey.

The Advocacy Day was organized in coordination with co-sponsoring organizations including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the Institute for Family Services, Manavi, the Sikh Coalition and South Asian Mental Health Awareness in New Jersey (SAMHAJ). The event was also co-sponsored by the office of Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Upendra Chivukula. This is the first time that these organizations have come together for a South Asian Advocacy Day.