Earlier this week, the Missouri Senate Economic Development Committee heard Senate Bill 790 which would provide state tax credits to grocery stores that open in food deserts across our state. According to USDA, a food desert is a low-income tract where a substantial number or substantial share of residents does not have easy access to...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

At Kids Win Missouri, we envision a state where all children have the opportunity to be healthy, happy, and successful. That’s why we supported Medicaid expansion on the ballot last August – because we know that by expanding Medicaid in our state, Missouri’s kids will win BIG. Although expansion is targeted to uninsured adults, research...Read More

Next Monday, health-related committees in both the Missouri House & Senate will hear testimony on nearly identical bills to significantly modernize our state’s HIV criminalization laws.  For the last three years, Empower Missouri has been home to the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition. This coalition is led by People Living with HIV (PLHIV), their service providers,...Read More

Below is the testimony that Smart Sentencing Coalition member Kenya Brumfield Young presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 22, 2021 about the passage of Senate Bill 60. Senate Bill 60 puts into place new policies that aim to increase police accountability and build trust between police and the communities they serve. Empower Missouri...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 always, the happenings in Jefferson City these past two months have been full of twists, turns and surprises. And it is not over yet, so keep taking those motion sickness pills! It all began back on July 15, 2020, when Governor Parson issued a proclamation to convene an Extraordinary Session on Violent Crime. Thus,...Read More

Today the Missouri House of Representatives gave final passage to five of six bills heard by House committees on August 17. The bills were crafted as a response to Gov. Mike Parson’s call to a Special Session on Violent Crime, but none address the root causes of violence. We believe that the witness of the past...Read More

Note: The following blog contains links to stories that include photos and descriptions of actions that are traumatizing. Recently, I have heard a number of people speculate that living through the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing uncommon unity to people in the U.S. that “we are all in the same boat now.” Despite the longing that...Read More