On September 5th, hundreds of people gathered for the 23rd Annual United States Conference on AIDS (USCA). Themed ‘Ending the Epidemics in Their Memory’, the conference featured four days of engaging content centered on the federal plan to end the HIV epidemic. People living with HIV, health departments and providers, community organizations, activists, and more...Read More

10/1/2019Contact: Conner Kerrigan, Communications Director815-263-1261 (cell)[email protected]  At 6:23pm on October 1st, 2019, the state of Missouri carried out the cruel and unusual execution of Russell Bucklew. This will serve as a stain on our state for the rest of its existence. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director of Empower Missouri, issues the following statement in response....Read More

On November 9th, we’ll be holding our annual conference, “Building Blocks for Missouri’s Success” in Columbia, MO.Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19, 2019Contact: Conner Kerrigan, Communications Director815-263-1261 (cell)[email protected]  (JEFFERSON CITY, MO)…Yesterday, over 79,000 public comments were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from people across the United States in opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed change in eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as food stamps)....Read More

More than 200,000 Missouri workers are in the “coverage gap,” unable to afford insurance through the Marketplace of the Affordable Care Act and unable to qualify for Medicaid, Missouri’s safety net insurance coverage. If you are unfamiliar with Medicaid, it is a health care program that assists families or individuals with low-incomes in paying for...Read More

12% of our neighbors meet the official USDA definition of “low food security” or “very low food security”. One in eight rely on federal SNAP to help put some or all of the food on their table every day. We should call this what it is - hunger.Read More

Below is an unedited version of the Testimony submitted by Empower Missouri’s Executive Director at a hearing regarding the hundreds of thousands of Missourians dropped from the Medicaid rolls. Find a live Twitter thread of the hearing here. September 11, 2019 To:       Members of the General AssemblyFrom:  Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director – Empower Missouri...Read More

Intended to highlight the difficulties faced by Missourians who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table, the challenge will ask participants to shop for a three-day supply of food for a family of four using only the amount of money available to families from the program.Read More

The Disparate Impact rule says that, even if it seems to apply equally to everyone, if a policy impacts protected classes more than others, it is discriminatory. A new proposal from HUD would effectively dismantle this important and needed rule.Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 4, 2019 Contact: Jeanette Mott Oxford314-775-3261 (cell)[email protected]  (JEFFERSON CITY, MO)….. A report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) reveals that while Missouri has made some progress on reducing food insecurity, the state level is still higher than the national average. The report documents that the 2018 food insecurity...Read More