Empower Missouri has fought for all Missourians to have basic human needs and equal justice since 1901, and there have undoubtedly been many challenges to address throughout those decades. But 2020 has been an historic year in which wave upon wave of crisis arrived, placing stress on governmental, community, household, and our staff and volunteer...Read More

The 2020 General Election has come and gone, although the vote counting and legal actions over a variety of issues are apt to continue for some time. Whether you are happy or sad about the outcome of races and ballot measures in Missouri, one thing is certain: Our advocacy for social justice will continue to...Read More

Empower Missouri Monthly Friday Forum Series: Re-Envisioning Public Safety Forum #3: December 18, 2020 Re-Envisioning Public Safety: Actions into 2021 Friday December 18, 2020 from 12pm – 1:30pm   Panelists: Sen. Brian Williams, Missouri State Senator Inez Bourdeaux, Close the Workhouse Amanda Balabon, One Struggle Kansas City   Register for the forum via THIS LINK For more information contact Christine Woody, [email protected]  Read More

On Thursday, October 15th, Empower Missouri held a webinar to discuss local, state and national housing policy. Empower Missouri was joined by Brooke Schipporeit from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Marqueia Watson from The Greater Kansas City Coalition to End Homelessness and Matt Ampleman from the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM). Our panelists focused...Read More

In recent days, some very troubling developments have happened in federal government that threaten to deepen the level of policy violence already happening to racial and ethnic minorities, especially among individuals and households with low incomes. It is crucial that policy advocates take note of these and organize in diverse coalitions with personally impacted people...Read More

(Jefferson City, MO)…Empower Missouri is applauding the decision by the Parson Administration to bring back Missouri’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to increase affordable housing for people who are struggling to keep shelter  within the state. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) voted unanimously to restart the program last Friday. Empower Missouri believes...Read More

In 2019, the Affordable Housing Coalition identified the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) as a key issue to target. While flawed, this program is the primary way our state invests in the development of new and inexpensive housing, a commodity which Missouri significantly lacks. For every 100 households earning 30% of their Area Median...Read More

On September 10, the U.S. Senate took up and failed to pass a $650 billion package of relief for our nation of 331 million people, rocked to the core by the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn. This is a sliver of the $3.4 trillion in aid approved by the U.S. House in May and...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

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO)…On September 15th, Empower Missouri and the Coalition on Human Needs released a new report showing Missouri is losing ground against the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 cases have continued to increase all over the state. Missouri is up nine percent while nationally there has been an average decline of...Read More