The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, is under threat of significant cuts by the federal government. Right now, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced a budget proposal that follows the Trump administration’s plan to slash WIC benefits. Specifically, it would cut the fruit and vegetable portion of WIC […] The post Protect WIC to Protect Missouri’s Children appeared first on Empower Missouri.| Empower Missouri
If you’ve felt like rent keeps rising faster than paychecks, you’re not imagining it. Federal rental assistance—Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), public housing funding, homelessness programs, and key state and local tools like HOME and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)—are the bedrock that help low-income Missourians stay housed, even as rent goes up. Right now, Washington […] The post Proposed Federal Housing Cuts: What They’d Mean for Missouri Renters and Our Communit...| Empower Missouri
Across rural Missouri, tenants face moldy ceilings, unfair rent hikes, and investor landlords that benefit from no one pushing back. But when neighbors get organized, they can win repairs, stop harassment, and make housing safer and more affordable for everyone. Empower Missouri created “Standing Together: A Simple Guide to Tenant Organizing in Small Towns and […] The post Standing Together in Rural Missouri: A New Tool for Tenants Ready to Organize appeared first on Empower Missouri.| Empower Missouri
The weekend before my first day at Empower Missouri, I went to a three-year-old’s birthday party. It was one of those heavy, hot July days in the Midwest—the kind where the air feels so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. (My fellow Missourians, you know the kind!) The highlight of the afternoon? […] The post What A Piñata Taught Me About Policy Change appeared first on Empower Missouri.| Empower Missouri
Empower Missouri strongly condemns President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on “Ending Crime & Disorder on America’s Streets.” The order is riddled with misleading statements, prejudicial language, and outright lies about our neighbors who are unhoused. We seek to correct this misinformation and encourage our partners to stand ready to mitigate, and then be prepared to […] The post Empower Missouri’s Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order on “Ending Crime & Disorder on A...| Empower Missouri
Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) releases its Out of Reach report—an eye-opening look at what it actually costs to rent a modest apartment in America. The 2025 edition confirms what many Missourians already know from experience: affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for working people across the state. At the […] The post Out of Reach in Missouri: The 2025 Rental Affordability Crisis appeared first on Empower Missouri.| Empower Missouri