Date: March 12, 2024To: Chairman Brown and members of the Senate Emerging Issues CommitteeFrom: Misha Smith, Affordable Housing Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRe: Opposition to HB 2062 Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri is the largest anti-poverty advocacy organization in the state. As part of our work, we convene a statewide Affordable Housing Coalition every month. This...Read More

As homeless rates increase across the United States, it has become a policy focus across all levels of government. The most important place to start is the main cause of homelessness: the lack of affordable housing. In Missouri, for every 100 extremely low income renters, there are only 44 affordable units available. Missouri’s minimum wage...Read More

I am so grateful to be a part of the Empower Missouri policy team as the newest Affordable Housing Policy Manager. I have been involved with the organization, first as a coalition member and then as a board member, before joining the staff, and I knew this was where I wanted to be. In this...Read More

On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned HB 1606, a bill with language that Empower Missouri advocated against during the 2022 session. Our advocacy, among many others, helped to shape the lawsuit, Byrd v State of Missouri, that led to Tuesday’s decision. Because of the work by Empower Missouri, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Eden...Read More