(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

Empower Missouri Monthly Friday Forum Series: Re-Envisioning Public Safety Forum #1: September 18, 2020 Evictions in COVID-19: 300,000 Missouri Families at Risk Local, State and Federal Actions to Keep Families Safe Friday September 18, 2020 from 12pm- 1:30pm Panelists: Kalila Jackson: Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, St. Louis Gina Chiala:  Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, Kansas City Justin Lockhart: Community...Read More

Labor Day is at the top of my “Most Hypocritical Holiday Observance” list. On most holidays, large numbers of people take some action that is connected to the meaning of the holiday – practicing gratitude on Thanksgiving, giving flowers to a lover on Valentine’s Day, watching “the rockets’ red glare” of fireworks or displaying an...Read More

Since Empower Missouri’s focus is on securing basic human needs and equal justice for every person in our state, we receive quite a few calls from people whose food and housing security are in danger. This week I had a call from a tenant with low-income who is aware that the federal eviction moratorium has...Read More

TAKE ACTION NOW After more than two months of delay, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Caucus have finally released their proposal for the next round of COVID-19 relief. On Monday, congressional leaders unveiled a roughly $1 trillion stimulus proposal called the HEALS Act, which includes a $400 cut in unemployment benefits. The federal eviction...Read More

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO)……After more than two months of delay, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Caucus have finally released their proposal for the next round of COVID-19 relief. On Monday, congressional leaders unveiled a roughly $1 trillion stimulus proposal called the HEALS Act, which includes a $400 cut in unemployment benefits. The federal eviction moratorium...Read More