The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s newly released report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, documents a shortage of 7 million affordable and available rental homes for our nation’s lowest-income renters, who make up one quarter of all renters in the U.S. This severe shortage forces 71% of our poorest families – seniors, people...Lee mas

Last week, I offered testimony against a pair of bills in the Missouri House and Senate aimed at reducing homelessness. I first celebrated with the sponsors and the committee members that the Missouri legislature should be doing more to address our neighbors who live outside; homelessness is an untenable situation that is below the dignity...Lee mas

For months, Empower Missouri and our allies in Missouri have been urging our federal representatives to pass the Build Back Better Act, an opportunity to make historic investments for our neighbors with low incomes. Last week, Congress passed what we hope to be a final version of the bill. It includes targeted investments to reduce...Lee mas

Since 1901, the pinnacle of Empower Missouri’s work each year has been its Annual Conference. In fact, for the first decade, that was the bulk of Empower Missouri’s (then called the Missouri State Conference on Charities & Corrections) work. Once a year, advocates gathered together to discuss the state of affairs in Missouri and make...Lee mas

Homelessness and poverty are not crimes. However, in many communities across Missouri, it is treated like one. Police involvement in the form of ‘camp sweeps’ is often the method used to move people who are houseless out of the areas they have made their home. Springfield, Missouri can be used as a case study for...Lee mas

Empower Missouri has been saying it for years: Homelessness in the United States is a solvable crisis. It is unacceptable that our neighbors work full time jobs and are still unable to cover their basic necessities, like nutrition and housing. According to the 2021 Out of Reach report, parents in Missouri need to work a...Lee mas

Legal scholars and housing advocates alike have been watching the CDC eviction moratorium closely. I’ll let the lawyers work their own theories on whether the court cases will end up supporting the moratorium or will overturn it because the CDC doesn’t have that type of authority. As for housing advocates, we know that keeping people...Lee mas

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout have underscored the need for a strong housing safety net in the United States. COVID-19 was an economic catastrophe for many households precisely because so many already could not afford their homes and because the pre-pandemic housing assistance programs were not properly funded. The National Low Income Housing...Lee mas

Para poder pagar un modesto apartamento de dos habitaciones a un precio de mercado justo en Missouri, los trabajadores de tiempo completo deben ganar $16.66 por hora. Este es el salario de vivienda 2021 de Missouri, revelado en un informe nacional publicado hoy. El informe, Out of Reach, fue publicado conjuntamente por la Coalición Nacional de Vivienda para Personas con Bajos Ingresos (NLIHC), una investigación y defensa ...Lee mas

A menudo me describo a mí mismo como un organizador de base en mi esencia. Realmente creo que no hay forma ética de abogar por cambios legislativos que no sea a través del poder del pueblo. Para Empower Missouri, eso significa pasar tiempo con personas en situación de pobreza y las agencias sin fines de lucro a las que recurren en busca de ayuda. Puedo...Lee mas