Date: February 22, 2024To: Chairman Lane Roberts and Members of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety CommitteeFrom: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRe: Support for HB 1545 Empower Missouri has been committed for over 120 years to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy and policy change. Since...Lee mas

Date: February 21st, 2024To: Chairman Viet, and Members of the House Corrections and Public Institutions CommitteeFrom: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRe: Our support for HB 2169 and HB 1679 Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri advocates for the well-being of Missourians through civic leadership, education, and research. As part of our work, we...Lee mas

Date: January 31st, 2024To: Representative Rudy Viet, Chairman, and Members of the House Committee on Corrections and Public InstitutionsFrom: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRE: Support for HB 2502 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents...Lee mas

Date: January 31st, 2024To: Representative Rudy Viet, Chairman, and Members of the House Committee on Corrections and Public InstitutionsFrom: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRE: Support for HB 1777 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents...Lee mas

Date: January 29th, 2024 To: Sen. Leutkemeyer, Chairman, and Members of the Senate Judiciary and Civil and  Criminal Jurisprudence Committee From: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Support for SB 1098 Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri advocates for the well-being of Missourians through civic leadership, education, and research. As part of our...Lee mas

Date: January 24th, 2024 To: Representative Rudy Viet, Chairman, and Members of the House Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions From: Gwen Smith, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri RE: Support for HB 2203 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for...Lee mas

On Tuesday evening, I went to the prison in Bonne Terre to stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty in opposing the execution of Kevin Johnson. I honestly didn’t attend in my official capacity as a staff member at Empower Missouri. As I had learned the details of...Lee mas

In just over two weeks, Missouri voters will head to polls for the midterm elections. In addition to voting for federal, state, and, in some cases, local leaders, Missouri voters will weigh in on four constitutional amendments. Three of these amendments were proposed by the Missouri legislature, and one, Amendment 3, was proposed by the...Lee mas

¿Cómo podemos promover sentencias inteligentes en Missouri para reducir el número de personas encarceladas, aliviar algunas de las demandas que nuestro sistema penal impone al presupuesto estatal y lograr mejores resultados a largo plazo?Lee mas

En Perspectiva de la semana pasada, hablamos sobre los obstáculos a los que se enfrentó nuestro proyecto de ley de modernización de la política del VIH y cómo persistiremos y nos organizaremos para el éxito futuro. Hoy, sin embargo, queremos contarles acerca de algunas victorias verdaderamente inconfundibles que Empower Missouri vio esta semana.Lee mas