Empower Missouri works to solve the underlying issues driving poverty in Missouri by directly addressing the barriers that prevent us from passing solutions to these problems. The core of our work is our three statewide coalitions: food security, affordable housing, and community justice. Our coalitions drive progress with a sharp focus on dismantling cycles of poverty - and alleviating its effects - in our state.
Some major achievements over our 120-year history include:
- Creating the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (1957), which investigates complaints of discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodation
- Creating the Missouri Public Defender Commission (1972), which provides legal representation to low-income citizens accused or convicted of crimes in Missouri
- Creating the Missouri Housing Trust Fund (1994), which provides capital to meet housing needs of very low-income families and individuals
- Obtaining an executive order for Fair Chance Hiring (2016), which opened up 51,000 state jobs to the formerly incarcerated
- Passing the "Raise the Age" Act (2018), which ensures most 17-year-olds are handled by juvenile courts, not adult courts
- Creating the WIC Farmers' Market Program, extending the Missouri Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, and creating a Missouri Food Security Task Force (2021)