Time Is Now Action Coalition
The Time Is Now Action Coalition, established by YWCA Northern New Jersey and NJ Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, is comprised of diverse government, business, labor, education, legal, faith-based, and non-profit leaders working closely with the community to formulate an action plan that supports the wave of people who have stepped forward to say #MeToo.
Regardless of mission, purpose, or political affiliation, we all agree that there is no place for sexual harassment, discrimination, and sexual violence in our communities, schools, or workplaces. Together with the community, we are taking meaningful steps to help dismantle these barriers to equality, ultimately making #MeToo obsolete.
Growing List of Time Is Now Action Coalition Members
Age-Friendly Englewood | Assemblyman Gordon Johnson | Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi | Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle | Bergen Community College | Bergen County Alternatives to Domestic Violence (ADV) | Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders | Bergen County Executive James Tedesco | Bergen County Freeholder Tracy Zur | Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office | Bergen Family Center | Bergen Indivisible for Democracy | Bergen PFLAG | Boys & Girls Clubs of Lodi, Hackensack, & Teaneck | Center for Hope & Safety | Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church | Displaced Homemakers Center @ the Bergen One-Stop | Displaced Homemakers Network of New Jersey, Inc. | Dwight-Englewood School | Emme Associates, Inc. | Enodia Center for Balance, LLC | Etre, LLC | Felician University | Female Wave of Change | FLOMO/Nygala Corporation | Girl Scouts of Northern NJ | International Justice Project | Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest | KPMG | Law Offices of Rosemarie Arnold | Leonia Action Alliance | National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) Bergen Passaic Chapter | National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section (NCJW BCS) | National Council of Jewish Women Essex County Section (NCJW ECS) | National Council of Jewish Women Morris County Section (NCJW MCS) | New Bridge Medical Center | New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault | NJ Senator Loretta Weinberg | Northern NJ NOW | Oradell Council President Tracy Schoenberg | Ridgewood JOLT | Teaneck Councilwoman Gervonn Romney Rice | Teaneck International Film Festival | Unitarian Society of Ridgewood | Unitarian Universalist Faith Action New Jersey (UUFANJ) | @UniteWomenNJ | Upper Saddle River Prosecutor Michael L Kingman, Esq. | US Representative Josh Gottheimer | Women for Progress | Women’s March on NJ | Women’s Right Information Center | Women United in Philanthropy | Woodcliff Lake Councilwoman Jacqueline Gadaleta | Writer Maureen Shaw | YWCA Northern New Jersey | YWCA Northern New Jersey Board of Directors | YWCA Union County | ZONTA Club of Northern Valley NJ
Public Updates & Press
*September/October 2018 Impact on Survivors of Kavanaugh Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
View: Press Conference at YWCA Bergen County healingSPACE with Senator Bob Menendez, New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Center on Violence Against Women and Children
Related press:
Kavanaugh sex assault accusations send NJ advocacy groups into ‘overdrive’ by Andrew Goudsward, Asbury Park Press / Northjersey.com
Calls to Bergen sexual abuse hotline increase in wake of Brett Kavanaugh hearing by Melanie Anzidei, The Record / Northjersey.com
Advocates worry Brett Kavanaugh confirmation may silence survivors, hopeful for change by Melanie Anzidei, The Record / Northjersey.com
*April 19, 2018 Community Update with NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy
View: Time Is Now Action Coalition Community Update with NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy – April 19, 2018
Related press:
NJ first lady, in Bergen, says Me Too has given voice to the ‘forgotten’ by Melanie Anzidei, The Record / Northjersey.com
Time Is Now Coalition presents findings after town hall by Briana Vannozzi, NJTV News (View in full episode)
*January 12, 2018 Press Conference
View: Time Is Now Action Coalition Press Conference – January 12, 2018
Related press:
This groundbreaking group is combatting sexual harassment in N.J. by By Erin Banco, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Bergen County leaders launch Time Is Now Coalition to combat sexual violence by Melanie Anzidei, The Record / Northjersey.com
Lawmakers look to update sexual misconduct policies by Leah Mishkin, NJTV News
*Press on Impact of #MeToo Movement in NJ
Bill Cosby verdict sends ‘strong message’ to victims, NJ experts say by Melanie Anzidei, The Record / Northjersey.com, Apr 27, 2018
N.J. sexual assault hotlines report uptick in calls in aftermath of Weinstein–Erin Banco, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Updated Dec 13, 2017 / Posted Dec 6, 2017
#MeToo supported by local sexual violence advocacy groups, which push for more action–Abbey Finch, NorthJersey, Oct 16, 2017
The Time Is Now Action Coalition begins as a Bergen-County-based initiative, with the goal that this becomes the basis for a statewide effort. The Time Is Now Action Coalition will:
– Create a clearinghouse of resources to raise awareness, educate ourselves, and provide necessary services to survivors.
– Identify gaps in services and outline plans to fill them.
– Facilitate proactive commitment by employers to create safe workplaces free from discrimination, harassment, and violence that also provide equal opportunity to all people.
– Encourage us all to take action where we live, work, worship, gather, and play to do our part in creating a collective shift.
How can you get involved?
1. We invite all leaders, influencers, and organizers from every sector of society—elected officials at every level, corporate executives and entrepreneurs, educators from preschools through universities, attorneys and judges, labor leaders, advocacy groups, faith-based leaders—to sign on to the Time Is Now Coalition.
2. We invite all members of the community to have their voices heard to inform our efforts with your experiences and solutions. Note: Our live Town Halls took place in February 2018, but our virtual Town Hall remains open.
Participate in Live and Virtual Town Halls
3. Help us build support and momentum for the Time Is Now Action Coalition with Likes, Comments, and Shares on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
4. Share your feedback and ideas.
Related Reading
Opinion: It’s not just Weinstein–Senator Loretta Weinberg, NorthJersey, Oct 13, 2017
Powerful Hollywood Women Unveil Anti-Harassment Action Plan–Cara Buckley, NY Times, Jan 1, 2018
Melinda Gates: It’s Time for a New Era for Women–Melinda Gates, TIME, Jan 4, 2018
Time Is Now Action Coalition Press Conference – January 12, 2018
