“Continuous Contraceptives” is Smart Anti-Poverty Policy

Empower Missouri is dedicated to ending poverty within our state. In our day-to-day work, we focus on three key areas: affordable housing, criminal justice, and…

2024 Session Draws to a Close with Historically Low Bill Passage

On Friday, the 2024 Missouri Legislative Session closed with little fanfare, a fitting end to a session where little work was accomplished. The legislation passed…

2025 Legislative Session Recap

The 2025 Missouri legislative session ended last week with some controversy and tension as the Senate invoked Previous Question, or “PQ”, to cut off debate.…

A Case for Right to Counsel in Springfield MO

For the past several months, a growing coalition of tenant leaders, housing advocates, legal experts, and community leaders in Springfield has been working toward a…

A Clean Slate Will Offer Thousands of Missourians Better Access to Safe, Affordable Housing

Among Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are the lowest and arguably most important necessities humans require to exist; physiological needs. These include basic essentials such as…

A Drug Conviction Should Not Mean a Lifetime of Hunger

In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), sometimes known as the welfare reform bill. Buried deep within that sweeping…

A Home for All, Not Just Those That Can Afford It: How Gentrification Has Given Way to a New Generation of Community Organizers

First coined by sociologist Ruth Glass in the 1960s, gentrification has been part of the lexicon for those working in both economics and the affordable…

A Preview of the 2025 Legislative Session

Below is a quick summary of key issues for Empower Missouri in the upcoming legislative session. If you would like to learn more, please register…

Action Alert: Sign on to Save SNAP!

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has proposed a $300 billion cut to SNAP, nearly 30% of the federal funding for the nation’s largest anti-hunger program…

Action Alert: Tell Governor Kehoe to Provide Disaster Food Benefits for Tornado-Impacted St. Louisans

Addressing Food Deserts & Expanding Food Access Across Missouri

Earlier this week, the Missouri Senate Economic Development Committee heard Senate Bill 790 which would provide state tax credits to grocery stores that open in…

Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis with the Housing Trust Fund

Missouri has a severe affordable housing shortage. Our partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition show 72% of very low income households in Missouri…

Apply now to join the 2025-2026 Board of Directors!

Empower Missouri is seeking dedicated leaders who are deeply committed to our work to change laws and policies that perpetuate cycles of poverty. Applications are…

Bipartisan Women’s Healthcare Legislation Would Reduce Barriers to Contraception

At its core, Empower Missouri is an anti-poverty organization. You often hear about our priority issues areas; affordable housing, criminal legal system reform, and food…

Breathing New Life into TANF

JMO and I traveled to Washington D.C. October 21-23 to attend the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ (CBPP’s) 2019 TANF Advocate Conference. It was…

Building a New Community Paradigm for Funding the Police, Preventing Crime & Addressing Poverty

This session, five bills have been filed pertaining to funding for the Kansas City Police Department.  For those who are not familiar with the issue,…

Cash Benefits are a Critical Resource for Families Experiencing Poverty

Later today, the House Committee on Downsizing Government will hear HB 2085, a bill that would prevent households which receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy…

Cash Benefits are a Critical Resource for Families Experiencing Poverty

Last year, we advocated against HB 2085, a bill that would prevent households which receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) from withdrawing those benefits…

Celebrating Pride, Fighting for Change, and Imagining the Future

Pride Month 2024 is in full swing, and with it comes an opportunity to both take stock of the vast amount of change needed in…

Child Support Cooperation Requirements in SNAP Threaten Children’s Food Security

As Joseph Llobera from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities stated in his report Child Support Cooperation Requirements in SNAP Are Unproven, Costly, and…

Committed to protecting Missouri families living in deep poverty

Since our founding in 1901 as the Missouri Conference on Charities and Corrections, Empower Missouri has been deeply concerned about the fate of women and…

Congratulations to our 2024 Advocacy Award Honorees

The 2024 legislative session is nearing the finish line, and with that will come a chance to celebrate what we have accomplished this year. At…

Connection, Learning and Progress: The 2024 Week of Action

It was a busy but inspiring week for Empower Missouri: our 2024 Week of Action! Throughout the week we offered three virtual training sessions (recordings…

Deep Federal Medicaid Cuts Will Eliminate Coverage, Increase Health Care Costs, and Jeopardize Rural Health

Submitted by: Traci Gleason | Vice President, External Relations at Missouri Budget Project Note: This morning (July 1st), the U.S. Senate passed the reconciliation bill,…

Despite lower crime rates, our prison population is growing

While crime has dropped across the nation and also in Missouri, our state is one of only eight states in which the prison population has…

Empower Missouri is Proud to Join The Right Time Initiative

Beginning in January 2022, Empower Missouri is proud to announce that we’ll be joining The Right Time Initiative as a community mobilization partner.  The Right…

Empowering You Newsletter | July 2019

Click the image below to view a downloadable .pdf of our July newsletter.

End of 2019 MO Legislative Session Allows Advocates to Turn Attention to Federal Issues

With the General Assembly adjourning the 2019 Legislative Session on May 17, social justice advocates in Missouri now have more opportunity to focus on important…

Eviction: A Cause or Condition of Poverty?

Matthew Desmond describes eviction as both a cause and a condition of poverty. What does that mean, and how should Missouri respond? First, it is…

Food Insecurity Among Older Adults: A Growing Concern

As our population ages, one issue that increasingly demands attention is food insecurity. Lacking consistent access to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life,…

Healthy Food Financing Initiative Updates: A Pipeline to Food Equity in Rural Missouri

With the holidays quickly approaching, many turn their attention to the joys of sharing meals with those closest to them. Often, preparation for holiday meals…

Housing First Hasn’t Had a Fair Shot in Missouri – You Can’t Shovel While It’s Still Snowing

Last week, I offered testimony against a pair of bills in the Missouri House and Senate aimed at reducing homelessness. I first celebrated with the…

Incarceration Cannot Be Our Solution For Solving Homelessness

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’…

Introducing the Advocacy Alliance

As we recently shared, Empower Missouri has just begun a new phase in our growth, the start of our next strategic plan. Our team is…

Invest in Human Dignity by Saving SNAP

Tonight, I’m catching a flight to Washington, D.C. to meet with staffers of Missouri’s congressional delegation and express Missourians’ opposition to the $300 billion in…

Investing in Advocacy

It is undeniable that poverty is a problem in our state. According to the 2022 Poverty Report, 13% of Missourians and over 17% of Missouri…

Is a Tax Cut the Best Source of Relief for Missourians Earning Low Wages?

The governor has called a special session next week for the legislature to debate the largest income tax cut in Missouri’s history. The governor’s proposal…

It’s Time for Missouri to Join the Majority of Other States and End the Food Sales Tax

The pandemic and its impact on our economy hit all of us hard, and illuminated the struggles low-wage workers face in ways that we had…

It’s Time to Eliminate Sales Tax on Groceries

In over 120 years, Empower Missouri has advanced and passed many successful policies. One of the most impactful was a significant decrease in the food…

Lessons Learned: Anti-Poverty Advocates Summit 2021

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…

Let Local Governments Protect Renters in Their Communities

If you’re like me, you weren’t familiar with the term ‘preemption’ before the 2024 legislative session (or maybe you’re still not familiar with this concept).…

Maintaining Our Summit Momentum

Empower Missouri started in 1901 as an annual conference focused on helping support Missourians who were living in poverty, and over 120 years later, the…

Mark Your Calendars Now – Our 2024 Anti-Poverty Advocates Summit will Feature Two Incredible Keynotes!

On November 12th and 13th Empower Missouri will host its annual Anti-Poverty Advocates Summit, bringing together advocates from across the state to explore the many ways…

Minimum Wage is on the Ballot in Missouri: Key Points to Consider

As an organization dedicated to securing basic human needs for all Missourians through policy change, Empower Missouri supports living wages for our state’s workers. On…

Missouri Must Fully Commit to Summer EBT in 2024

For kids in Missouri who receive a free or reduced price school meal, the summer can be one of the hungriest times of the year.…

Missouri Voters Have Spoken, We Want Medicaid Expansion

As I look back in my life, one specific policy has impacted nearly every decision I’ve ever made: Healthcare. I was a single mom during…

Missouri Workers Need Paid Sick Leave: Supporting Our State’s Families by Opposing HB 567

The latest issue to face intense debate in the Missouri Senate is paid sick leave. HB 567, which would remove paid sick leave for workers,…

Missouri’s Failure to Feed Hungry Children This Summer is Inexcusable

This past spring, as the school year was winding down, nonprofits across the country began working on plans to implement their summer feeding programs for…

Our 2023-2024 Advocacy Partners

At Empower, we believe the key to ending poverty lies in changing the policies that drive it. We can make changes that ensure a long-term,…

Our Advocacy Awards Brunch Honored Leaders in Our Fight

Last Saturday, June 11th, Empower Missouri supporters, coalition members, staff and other guests gathered at the Piper Palm House in St. Louis to honor our…

Providing Adequate Nutrition for Our Seniors Should Be Simple

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program and helps millions of people who are at risk for food insecurity every…

Storytelling for Change: A Review of Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott

This November, our Anti-Poverty Advocates Summit will feature Andrea Elliott, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Invisible Child, as one of our keynote speakers. Our…

Testimony in Opposition to HB 1435, HB 1804 and HB 2541

Date: February 7th, 2024To: Chairman Bromley and members of the Utilities CommitteeFrom: Trina Ragain, Lead Policy Strategist, Empower MissouriRe: Opposition to HB 1435, HB 1804…

Testimony in Opposition to HB 1560 – Cash Access for TANF Recipients

Date: March 4, 2024 To: Rep. Doug Richey, Chariman, and Members, Special Committee on Government AccountabilityFrom: Christine Woody, Food Security Policy Manager, Empower MissouriRe: Our…

Testimony in Opposition to SB 4 – Utility Bill Increase

Date: March 10, 2025 To: Chairman Bromley and Members, House Utilities Committee From: Lucas Caldwell-McMillan, Chief of Policy Staff, Empower Missouri Re: Our opposition to…

The 2022 Week of Action – We Made our Voices Heard!

This past week Empower Missouri held its Annual Week of Action. In addition to 3 virtual days, this year we were able to be back…

The Criminalization of Poverty

It has been clear to criminal justice advocates in Empower Missouri’s network for some time that poverty has been criminalized. Among the ways we have…

The Enduring Impacts of Childhood Poverty

You hear from us often about the complexities of poverty and the need for a variety of policy solutions to address the housing crisis, food…

The Gap Report is Clear – We Need More Affordable Housing

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s newly released report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, documents a shortage of 7 million affordable and available…

The MO Minimum Wage Just Went Up Again– But Is It Enough?

In 2018, Missourians resoundingly passed a phased increase to the minimum wage to $12/hour over five years. When the bill passed, it was estimated that…

The Restaurant Meals Program Would Make Healthy Meals Accessible to More SNAP Participants

Food Insecurity in the U.S. and Here at Home in Missouri More than 34 million people experience food insecurity in the United States. That includes…

The Ripple Effect of Low Wages for State Employees

This special Weekly Perspective is a collaboration between MO Jobs with Justice Organizing Director Richard Von Glahn and Empower Missouri's Policy Manager Christine Woody.  During…

To End Race and Class Disparities, it is Critical That We Can Investigate Their Roots

With just four weeks to go in Missouri’s legislative session, our Senators and Representatives are hard at work debating legislation that could have long-term consequences…

Universal Free School Meals Have Ended – Advocacy Opportunities Continue

Just a few weeks into the new school year, many families are learning that after two years of all Missouri public school children receiving free…

We Must Protect Nutrition Provisions In The Build Back Better Act That Are Crucial In The Ongoing Fight Against Childhood Hunger and Food Insecurity

There was a slight delay in Congress’ work on the Build Back Better legislation these past couple weeks because Congress had to pass a continuing…

We’re hitting the Road! Empower Missouri is Spending Our Summer Traveling The State Talking About Anti-Poverty Public Policy

I often describe myself as a grassroots organizer at my core. I really believe that there is no ethical way to advocate for legislative changes…

What Happens in D.C. Does Not Stay in D.C.

This week, committees in the U.S. House of Representatives released major reconciliation proposals with cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs. As the title suggests,…

WIC Is a Lifeline for Families: Increasing Participation Is Vital

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program is an essential resource for millions of low-income families across the United States. It is available for income-eligible pregnant…

Work Hours Tracking is a Solution in Search of a Problem

I’ve been with Empower Missouri nearly 4 years now, and since I started every legislative session we work against work hour tracking for SNAP. It…

Work Requirements – Expect More. But From Whom?

For years, we have been fighting a narrative that giving money and support to people trying to make ends meet without requiring them to work…

Wrapping Up the 2023 Legislative Session

The 2023 legislative session will end today at 6PM, so there’s only a few hours remaining for the legislature to pass any final bills before…