FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19th, 2021 (JEFFERSON CITY, MO)…Empower Missouri and its network of supporters in Missouri will be joining in a coordinated Week of Action from April 19th – 22nd on Zoom this week, demanding that state lawmakers support legislation that helps Missourians have food, shelter and justice.  The actions include fighting back against...Read More

Over one year after the start of the global pandemic, we are still learning of the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on our society. One area that has been heavily impacted by COVID-19 is affordable housing. It became apparent early on in the pandemic that its effects on the economy would be detrimental to many...Read More

WE NEED YOU! WHEN: April 19th – 22nd at noon each day.  The Missouri legislative session is heating up, and it is critical that your voices are heard in Jefferson City. Please join Empower Missouri April 19th – 22nd for a virtual lunch hour Week of Action. Each day, spend one hour with us learning...Read More

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s newly released report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes 2021, finds a housing shortage of over 122,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low income households in Missouri. Nationally, 7 million of our nation’s extremely low-income renter households, who make up one quarter of all renters in...Read More

The legislature is taking their annual Spring Break this week, which is widely considered to be “halftime” of the legislative session. We’ve spent the last few days reviewing our progress on all of our priority legislation this year and preparing for the sprint to the finish line when session begins next week.  Here’s a quick...Read More

On February 18th, 2021, Empower Missouri held a webinar to talk President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The Emergency Legislative package would to fund Vaccinations, provide immediate, direct relief to families bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, and support struggling communities. Empower Missouri was joined by Brooke Schipporeit from the National Low Income Housing Coalition...Read More

While Missouri hasn’t had a unified plan to tamp down the spread of COVID-19 in our state, municipalities have put in place many different response strategies. From mask ‘suggestions’ all the way to strict stay at home orders and shuttering of non-essential businesses, all of us have been impacted by the pandemic and response in...Read More

Brooke Schipporeit joined the National Low-Income Housing Coalition as an housing advocacy organizer in January 2019. She comes to NLIHC from Nebraska by way of Philadelphia, PA, where she spent the last few years supporting state and local coalitions in their efforts to achieve solutions to housing poverty. Specifically, she worked as an MSW intern...Read More

On Thursday, January 21st, Empower Missouri held a webinar to discuss Missouri’s Parole System. In November 2020, a federal judge ordered Missouri to overhaul its parole system. The order required the state’s Department of Corrections to implement over two dozen reforms related to the agency’s unconstitutional handling of parole revocation proceedings. Empower Missouri was joined...Read More

Missouri lawmakers returned to the Capitol in Jefferson City on January 6th with challenges posed by an ongoing pandemic. The Missouri legislative session began at noon last Wednesday with a new General Assembly; eleven newly-elected Senators and six returning Senators were sworn into office. In the house, 161 Representatives took the oath of office. With...Read More