PRAC Celebrates State’s Continued Funding of Resource Center Gears For Latinas
Elliot Hernandez, of PRAC of Southern New Jersey.
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
PENNSVILLE – When Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget into law on June 30, the Puerto Rican Action Committee of Southern New Jersey and other organizations celebrated with their funding restored.
PRAC’s Executive Director Elliot Hernandez and Joceline Ortiz, the director of the organization’s Hispanic Women’s Resource Center, said they will be able to continue their work assisting Latinas in South Jersey.
In his original budget proposal, Murphy had planned to slash the funds for HWRCs around the state from $4 million to $1 million, which would have led to the closure of at least two centers and drastically cut back services for Hispanic women around the state, according to NJ Spotlight News.
That funding was restored to $3 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget for all the centers, overseen by the Latino Action Network, that Murphy signed into law. The centers help women with language issues, workplace advancement and health resources, among other issues.
“The cuts would have hit us pretty hard where we might have had to close one of our centers and layoff staff,” Ortiz told Front Runner New Jersey.com. “The work that we do helps our communities. We cover all of the counties, and we service our clients in so many ways.
“The see the [proposed cuts] made us sad but we’re celebrating because of our effort and our local community leaders who helped us and made this possible. I know the clients had shared their stories on how the women’s centers helped them. It was definitely a team effort.”
Hernandez said Democrat and Republican leaders came together to add their voice to storing funding. He said the funding helps Hispanic Women’s Resource Centers around the state.
“It was great to see both sides of the aisle work together for the greater good,” Hernandez said.
PRAC’s Hispanic Women’s Resource Center, which is located at 818 East Landis Avenue in Vineland, along with locations in Pennsville, Rio Grande in Cape May County and Hammonton in Atlantic County.
It offers workforce development skills, English language classes, job readiness preparation, interviewing skills and computer training. Ortiz said the classes also provide hope for a brighter future as well as establishing a foundation for empowerment.
“A huge thank you to every woman who shared her story, to every ally who stood beside us, to every leader who helped make this happen and to all the state senators and assembly members who listened and stood with us,” PRAC said in a statement.
“And a very special thank you to Sen. Michael Testa and Assemblyman Dave Bailey, who not only stood with us but took the time to meet directly with PRAC. Your willingness to listen and engage with our team made all the difference.”
Follow Us Today On:
Note from AC JosepH Media: If you like this story and others posted on Front Runner New Jersey.com, lend us a hand so we can keep producing articles like these for New Jersey and the world to see. Click on SUPPORT FRNJ and make a contribution that will go directly in making more stories like this available. Thank you for reading.
About Author
