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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

Join Zoom Meeting online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89516136750?pwd=YlFrbFk0ZEhYU3FQQlNWQUZSaDNBdz09 Meeting ID: 895 1613 6750 Password: 169573 Join via cell phone or landline: DIAL: (301)-715-8592 CALL-IN CODE:  895 1613 6750# PASSWORD: *169573# Use this link to Sign up for the Affordable Housing Coalition Further Reading: NLIHC Out of Reach Report for Missouri Housing is the key – by Sarah Owsley TownsendRead More

Join Zoom Meeting online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89516136750?pwd=YlFrbFk0ZEhYU3FQQlNWQUZSaDNBdz09 Meeting ID: 895 1613 6750 Password: 169573 Join via cell phone or landline: DIAL: (301)-715-8592 CALL-IN CODE:  895 1613 6750# PASSWORD: *169573# Use this link to Sign up for the Affordable Housing Coalition Further Reading: NLIHC Out of Reach Report for Missouri Housing is the key – by Sarah Owsley TownsendRead More

Join Zoom Meeting online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89516136750?pwd=YlFrbFk0ZEhYU3FQQlNWQUZSaDNBdz09 Meeting ID: 895 1613 6750 Password: 169573 Join via cell phone or landline: DIAL: (301)-715-8592 CALL-IN CODE:  895 1613 6750# PASSWORD: *169573# Use this link to Sign up for the Affordable Housing Coalition Further Reading: NLIHC Out of Reach Report for Missouri Housing is the key – by Sarah Owsley TownsendRead More

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...Read More

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...Read More

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...Read More

In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Missouri, full-time workers need to earn $16.66 per hour. This is Missouri’s 2021 Housing Wage, revealed in a national report released today. The report, Out of Reach, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a research and advocacy...Read More