New Jersey
Trenton, NJ 08618
609-393-3752
SRAP Sample Letter to the Editor |
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I. Submitting Letters to the Editor
- Identify yourself-full name, hometown address, and daytime telephone number (without this information, submissions will not be considered!)
- Keep it under 250 words
- Use verifiable facts to make your point
- If you can, comment on a specific story, but focus on the issues, and of course, avoid all personal attacks
- It can also be good to relate your letter to a specific date, anniversary or even, month-For example, October is national housing month.
- Contact the editorial page via their email address if you can. If you don't have access to e-mail, fax or snail-mail.
- Limit submissions to once every 30 days
II. You can start off your letter by relating the State's Rental Assistance Program to articles you've seen in your local papers. For instance, see below:
In your recent article, " xxx" about xxx county real estate, no mention was made of New Jersey's escalating housing and rental costs-which have gone up by 76% in the last five years.
Or:
I read your recent report on "Where the Jobs Are" with great interest. What seemed particularly striking was that the jobs with the greatest number of vacancies don't pay enough for employees to rent or buy homes in the state of New Jersey.
III. Sample Letter
State program helps renters pay the bills
It's getting harder and harder to keep up with the rent in New Jersey. But there is good news for so many struggling families. Governor Corzine's increased funding for the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) offers real hope to more than 4,000 households in New Jersey.
SRAP has provided housing vouchers for families and individuals in dire need of housing assistance. These recipients are able to use vouchers to obtain safe, decent housing during a time of extremely high housing costs. The program has been enormously helpful to many state residents, but it still reaches only a fraction of the people who qualify for it and need it.
Homes for New Jersey, a non-partisan coalition of more than 200 business, religious and community leaders who support better housing in New Jersey, appreciate Corzine's budgetary stand for this program. Without it, many residents would face homelessness or be forced to cut back on basic needs such as health care, nutritious food, or safe child-care options.
More than 100,000 extremely low-income households in New Jersey pay more than half their income for rent. Consider that the federal affordability standard advises no more than 30 percent of household income be spent on housing costs.
In the coming months, we must ensure that the urgently needed 40 million in funding recommended for the State's Rental Assistance Program-a program that makes a difference to so many-passes through the legislature.
John Smith, Homes for New Jersey