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 of Empower Missouri’s (then called the Missouri State Conference on Charities & Corrections) work. Once a year, advocates gathered together to discuss the state of affairs in Missouri and make...Read More

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’ is often the method used to move people who are houseless out of the areas they have made their home. Springfield, Missouri can be used as a case study for...Read More

Empower Missouri has been saying it for years: Homelessness in the United States is a solvable crisis. It is unacceptable that our neighbors work full time jobs and are still unable to cover their basic necessities, like nutrition and housing. According to the 2021 Out of Reach report, parents in Missouri need to work a...Read More

Legal scholars and housing advocates alike have been watching the CDC eviction moratorium closely. I’ll let the lawyers work their own theories on whether the court cases will end up supporting the moratorium or will overturn it because the CDC doesn’t have that type of authority. As for housing advocates, we know that keeping people...Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout have underscored the need for a strong housing safety net in the United States. COVID-19 was an economic catastrophe for many households precisely because so many already could not afford their homes and because the pre-pandemic housing assistance programs were not properly funded. The National Low Income Housing...Read More

In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Missouri, full-time workers need to earn $16.66 per hour. This is Missouri’s 2021 Housing Wage, revealed in a national report released today. The report, Out of Reach, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a research and advocacy...Read More

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 other than through the power of the people. For Empower Missouri, that means spending time with people in poverty and the nonprofits agencies they turn to for help. I can...Read More

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