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 beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the connection between unemployment, poverty and food insecurity has been clear. One of the best indicators of food insecurity is poverty. At the end of 2019, Missouri’s food insecurity rate was 12% while its poverty level was 13.2%, both above the national average. At that point, according to...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
I have been learning about and advocating on safety net programs since I started at Empower Missouri 13 years ago, but have never really learned the history and inner workings of the TANF 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
With the General Assembly adjourning the 2019 Legislative Session on May 17, social justice advocates in Missouri now have more opportunity to focus on important federal issues. Unfortunately there are many situations where policy changes are being promoted that would lower the quality of life in Missouri communities and reduce safety net funds available to...Read More
Reformed theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (born in Wright City, MO in 1892) began sharing a prayer in 1934 that was published in this form in 1951: ….give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the...Read More
It has been clear to criminal justice advocates in Empower Missouri’s network for some time that poverty has been criminalized. Among the ways we have drawn attention to this topic were an April 2017 forum and a special Media Award to Tony Messenger in May 2018 for his series on policies that create debtors’ prisons,...Read More
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