Please download the full .pdf version of the newsletter by clicking here, or browse the articles below: Dangers and Opportunities in the 2020 Legislative Session: Our Advocacy for Justice Will Make a Difference – JMOCriminal justice will continue to see bipartisan progress in 2020 – Christine WoodyHow we’re working to increase affordable housing in Missouri...Read More

I attended a conference with other justice organizers from December 4-6 in Washington, DC, and I have been pondering something that a communications professional said in that meeting since my return. “Our narratives need an enemy,” she said, related to what research says about messaging. Empower Missouri is an evidence-based advocacy organization. If research says...Read More

The 2020 Legislative Session begins on Wednesday, January 8, and adjourns on Friday, May 15, with a Legislative Spring Break from March 23 to 27. Many factors go into every Legislative Session, some that press on the accelerator and others that push on the brakes. Here are some of the factors that we expect to...Read More

HIV criminalization is a complex issue. In the time when many of the laws concerning HIV were first established, there was widespread public fear about HIV and AIDS along with significant bias against members of the LGBTQ community who were severely impacted by the epidemic. The combination of that fear and prejudice fueled a lack...Read More

Our core belief around hunger is very, very simple – you cannot have life or liberty or be allowed to pursue happiness if you are unsure of where your next meal comes from. Our communities cannot be strong if there are food-insecure members living in them. Nourishment, the simple act of being able to feed...Read More

On Wednesday, December 11, Representatives Holly Rehder (R-Sikeston) and Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis) held a press conference to discuss legislation they had filed to modernize HIV-specific criminal codes in Missouri for the third year in a row. Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls (D-Kansas City), who will sponsor this legislation on the Senate side, prepared comments as...Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 13, 2019Contact: Conner Kerrigan, Communications Director815-263-1261 (cell)[email protected] JEFFERSON CITY, MO…On December 11th, 2019, Representatives Holly Rehder (R – Sikeston) and Tracy McCreery (D – St. Louis) filed HBs 1691 & 1692, respectively. Both bills aim to modernize Missouri’s outdated and medically inaccurate criminal statutes concerning HIV.  Currently, Missouri and more than 30...Read More

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – State Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls and State Representatives Holly Rehder and Tracy McCreery, along with Lynne Meyerkord, Executive Director of AIDS Project of the Ozarks; Cale Mitchell, Executive Director of Spectrum Healthcare; David Dandridge, Administrative Assistant at Williams & Associates; and Chloe Owens, Justice Organizer at Empower Missouri & Missouri HIV...Read More

On Monday, December 1st, pre-filing began for the Missouri State General Assembly. This means that, if they wanted to, legislators could begin filing the bills that they will be working to pass through the legislative process and turn into law during the 2020 session.  The pre-filing period is an exciting time for organizations like Empower...Read More

Today, the Trump Administration published a final rule that would disallow hundreds of thousands of individuals from utilizing SNAP to reduce their food insecurity. The individuals – SNAP participants ages 18 through 49 who aren’t raising minor children in their homes – are among those whose financial situation is the least able to handle such...Read More