More than 200,000 Missouri workers are in the “coverage gap,” unable to afford insurance through the Marketplace of the Affordable Care Act and unable to qualify for Medicaid, Missouri’s safety net insurance coverage. If you are unfamiliar with Medicaid, it is a health care program that assists families or individuals with low-incomes in paying for...Read More
12% of our neighbors meet the official USDA definition of “low food security” or “very low food security”. One in eight rely on federal SNAP to help put some or all of the food on their table every day. We should call this what it is - hunger.Read More
Below is an unedited version of the Testimony submitted by Empower Missouri’s Executive Director at a hearing regarding the hundreds of thousands of Missourians dropped from the Medicaid rolls. Find a live Twitter thread of the hearing here. September 11, 2019 To: Members of the General AssemblyFrom: Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director – Empower Missouri...Read More
Intended to highlight the difficulties faced by Missourians who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table, the challenge will ask participants to shop for a three-day supply of food for a family of four using only the amount of money available to families from the program.Read More
The September Empowering You Newsletter can be downloaded by clicking on the thumbnail below, and you can explore it’s contents by clicking on any of the links under the thumbnail. Putting an SRO in every Missouri school won’t make them safer – but here’s what might – Conner Kerrigan “Missouri has failed it’s voters” – Voter...Read More
Skills-Building Sessions Set for 09/26 & 10/24, 10 a.m. As advocates working for social justice, we find ourselves inheriting a certain vocabulary and a familiar set of tools for influencing public policy – popular education, advocacy, and lobbying, to name a few. Often we are accused of “preaching to the choir” with a publication or...Read More
By Jeanette Mott Oxford and Denise Lieberman In a week-long trial that concluded August 23, voter advocates presented testimony before Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem in a case that could determine the fate of Missouri’s voter photo ID law. At stake is Missourians’ fundamental right to vote. The case, NAACP et al. v. Missouri,...Read More
In a recent letter to Gov. Parson, State Auditor Nicole Galloway requested that a special session of the General Assembly be called to address the ever-present issue of school safety. Her concern is shared by many on both sides of the aisle. The worry that Missouri’s children could become victims of gun violence has been...Read More
Just one month remains until the deadline to submit comments opposing the Trump administration’s proposed rule change that would eliminate SNAP benefits for approximately 3.1 million individuals. Over the last 2 months, more and more voices are speaking out about these harsh and unnecessary changes but the pressure needs to continue. Just this week, the...Read More
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