We knew going into the legislative session that it would be a wild year. Unfortunately, wild years where very little gets done has become the normal legislative process in Missouri. It wasn’t designed to be this way. However, partisan infighting, electoral maps designed to favor one party, distrust in government and an overall breakdown in...Read More

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 housing sector. Gentrification as an idea has changed over the years. For Glass it was the process wherein middle-class workers moved into the working-class neighborhoods of London, resulting in the...Read More

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 in the Capitol for the first time in over 2 years! It was so good to be back.  On each of our virtual days attendees were able to learn about...Read More

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 sponsors and the committee members that the Missouri legislature should be doing more to address our neighbors who live outside; homelessness is an untenable situation that is below the dignity...Read More

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 important to understand that there are different forms of legal eviction in our state. If a tenant damages the property, breaks the law, or violates the lease (say, by having...Read More

For months, Empower Missouri and our allies in Missouri have been urging our federal representatives to pass the Build Back Better Act, an opportunity to make historic investments for our neighbors with low incomes. Last week, Congress passed what we hope to be a final version of the bill. It includes targeted investments to reduce...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

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