Since the founding of America, our constitution has been an important guiding document for the country and each state. The Bill of Rights demonstrates a fundamental fairness that should apply to everyone within the justice system. While clearly there were some significant flaws, including that giant loophole which allowed for the enslavement of human beings,...Read More

It’s the third week of May, which means that you’re hearing crickets from hundreds of lobbyists and advocates across the state who are taking a much deserved break after working many late nights over the last three weeks as the Missouri legislature hurtled towards its inevitable close at 6PM last Friday night. Due to widening...Read More

In 2018, organizations across the country like Empower Missouri started to elevate the conversation around affordable housing. We wanted housing to be a major issue in the 2020 Presidential election, and we succeeded. Candidates talked about affordable housing policy at every debate and were pushed to release housing policy plans. All of this groundwork from...Read More

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

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

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

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

As we first shared with you on November 20, Empower Missouri has been convening community groups since late October to seek a way to prevent utility shutoffs this winter as Missouri reels under the combined impact of COVID-19 and a deep economic recession. We have met with the governor’s staff. We have met with the...Read More