In Part 1 of our two-part Weekly Perspective series on youth justice, we talked about the different paths a kid may take through the system. We also discussed the science of why kids are different than adults and should be treated as such by our laws. This fact was underscored in 2012, when the Supreme...Lee mas

Adolescence can be a tough time for many children, between the onset of puberty, peer pressure, and grappling with the many factors beyond a young person’s control, such as family dynamics, food and housing insecurity, and more. Some children may act out in ways that bring them into contact with the youth justice system, or...Lee mas

On Friday afternoon, after 4PM, ahead of the long holiday weekend, Governor Mike Kehoe announced that he was calling a special session to “enact legislation establishing updated congressional districts for the State of Missouri and amending the state’s initiative petition process.” This is a political move called “taking out the trash,” which refers to the...Lee mas

The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, is under threat of significant cuts by the federal government. Right now, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced a budget proposal that follows the Trump administration’s plan to slash WIC benefits. Specifically, it would cut the fruit and vegetable portion of WIC...Lee mas

If you’ve felt like rent keeps rising faster than paychecks, you’re not imagining it. Federal rental assistance—Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), public housing funding, homelessness programs, and key state and local tools like HOME and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)—are the bedrock that help low-income Missourians stay housed, even as rent goes up.   Right now, Washington...Lee mas

Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) releases its Out of Reach report—an eye-opening look at what it actually costs to rent a modest apartment in America. The 2025 edition confirms what many Missourians already know from experience: affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for working people across the state. At the...Lee mas

For more than six years, Empower Missouri has been a part of a new type of funding model with the Missouri Foundation for Health. In 2019 MFH announced their new focus for their advocacy funding, called the Exemplary Advocate Cohort. A new type of experience, this team would meet several times a year over the...Lee mas