The Garden State Leaders is a free leadership and advocacy training program for NJ residents with lived experience of homelessness and poverty. Throughout the program, participants learn to effectively tell their stories and further their advocacy goals. 

 

Each session focuses on different topics such as understanding how the legislative process works in NJ, opportunities to make a difference on the local government level in your community, working with the media, and many more.

 

​The knowledge and skills built and connections made, help participants take on influential roles on issues pertinent to their lives. Upon graduation, Garden State Leader (GSL) alumni are invited to join our GSL 2.0 alumni group for networking and access to ongoing opportunities.
 

Garden State Leader Outcomes

 

More than 125 graduates of the Garden State Leaders Program are already driving change across New Jersey:

 

• Serving in leadership roles within nonprofit organizations

• Advocating for expanded access to resources such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and veteran services, as well as policies related to wages, environmental justice, and criminal justice

• Pursuing public office and stepping into public leadership

• Shaping policy, including serving as the majority of participants on the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Office of Homelessness Prevention Lived Experience Advisory Committee

• Supporting individuals currently experiencing homelessness in their communities

• Launching new solutions, including one graduate who has started and now operates a homeless shelter

 

Interested in learning more?
Contact Kate Leahy, at KLeahy@njceh.org or Alicia Alvarez at AAlvarez@njceh.org