Our second strategy in achieving our overall goals is to build a network of API organizations working towards environmental justice. The building of a network across organizations is critical to achieving a broad social change agenda simply because one organization cannot do it alone. The movement for environmental justice in the API community must include the diversity of communities impacted by environmental toxics, and must be able to mobilize a critical mass of people in order to impact institutions which are in turn impacting the greater community.

APEN’s overall goals in network building are to create a coherent voice among API environmental justice groups, to build the capacity of groups to organize within marginalized and un-organized communities, and to achieve an impact larger than local. We are initiating our network building work in the Bay Area, and will grow this work to all of California and eventually, nationwide.