(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

It is no surprise to anyone I interact with, but I really love data. In college, I had a professor thank me for always coming back to an evidence base when making policy recommendations, a tendency which has served me well at Empower Missouri. I enjoy dissecting data and holding on to it, conceptualizing it...Read More

COVID-19 provides a stark reminder that affordable housing is a public health issue as well as a moral imperative. When households cannot afford their rent, they cannot afford to shelter in place or self-isolate, which puts them and everyone else at greater risk. Empower Missouri is encouraging our network to reach out to Senators Blunt...Read More

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO)…..In order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Missouri, full-time workers need to earn $16.07 per hour. This is Missouri’s 2020 Housing Wage, revealed in a national report released Tuesday. The report, Out of Reach, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a research...Read More

There is no doubt, we are in unprecedented times. The federal government has passed three significant coronavirus response bills. Included in these packages have been significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expanded unemployment, and stimulus payments to most American families. However, a new report from our partners at the National Low Income...Read More

As a statewide advocacy organization, Empower Missouri is keeping an eye on what the state is doing or not doing regarding the issues we work on as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Empower Missouri has always done, we continue to work in coalition around these issues and advocate for evidence-based public policy wherever...Read More

This week I was honored to sit in Hearing Room 5 with some really stellar housing organizers as we offered testimony against House Bill (HB) 1315.  This bill aims to shorten the already lightning-fast timeline on evictions. The sponsor, Rep. Hardy Billington, testified that he was a landlord and that he occasionally had to evict...Read More

Jefferson City, MO — On February 20th, 2020, Empower Missouri, along with more than 100 other individuals and organizations, signed and delivered a letter to Governor Parson and House and Senate leadership encouraging them to re-institute the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) statewide match. Missouri has a dire shortage of affordable and available rental...Read More

TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is a federal cash assistance program for low income families with children that provides for basic needs. Families who qualify receive money on a debit-like card that they can use to help cover their monthly expenses, like food, rent, clothing, and transportation. TANF’s History In 1911, a version...Read More

When there is an emergency, it is important that we respond in a timely and appropriate manner. If you are having dinner with someone, and they begin to choke and gasp for air, it is time for the Heimlich maneuver or asking “is there a doctor in the house?!” If one pulls out a cell...Read More