Empower Missouri

Empower Missouri is our state's largest and oldest organization dedicated to ending poverty through advocacy and policy change.

We believe advocacy starts in our communities: with people asking questions, learning together, and taking action on the issues that affect their lives.

That’s why our work centers on education, training, and organizing across Missouri, with a focus on food security, affordable housing, and a fair justice system. We support Missourians in building the knowledge and confidence to speak up, so that their voices can shape meaningful policy change.

For 125 years, that approach has led to real impact across our state, and it continues to guide our work today.

At our core, we are committed to one thing: people-powered policy change.

Some major achievements over our 125-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
- Creating the WIC Farmers' Market Program, extending the Missouri Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, and creating a Missouri Food Security Task Force (2021)