Help Protect Critical Safety Net Programs

Welcome to my fundraising page!

I'm the Executive Director for Empower Missouri. I'm wrapping up my fifth legislative session on the team, and I'm so pleased to support our fundraising efforts on Give STL Day! 

Why We Need Your Help NOW

Crucial social safety net programs are under attack at both the federal and state level. Nutrition programs like SNAP, WIC, and school meals are all facing devastating cuts at the federal level.  Just this week, a federal judge released an order that clearly stated that Missouri still illegally denying food assistance despite a court order, and issued new requirements for the state to put them back in compliance with federal law.  We're monitoring proposals to gut housing assistance programs through the Department of Housing & Urban Development, deep cuts to Medicaid, and the potential full elimination of Head Start and LIHEAP (utility assistance for poor families). And Missouri legislators are on the cusp of rolling back a mandatory paid sick leave policy that was just passed by voters in November.  Any of these program cuts individually would be devastating, but taken together, these cuts will be catastrophic. We will see a massive increase in poverty, hunger, and homelessness in this country in a matter of months if these cuts are approved.  

We're doing everything that we can to carry the opposition of Missourians to our elected leaders and urge them NOT to make these cuts at the expense of average Americans-- can you help?? 

Background on Empower Missouri

For 120 years, Empower Missouri has been a champion of securing basic human needs and equal justice for every person in our state through coalition-building and advocacy. This nonpartisan nonprofit is the oldest and largest anti-poverty advocacy organization serving our state, and one of the first organizations of its kind in the nation. At its core, Empower Missouri is an anti-poverty organization focused on affordable housing, food security, and community justice.

Instrumental Wins

• Securing funding in the state budget for the Summer EBT program, ensuring that families that qualify for free or reduced-price school meals have access to nutritious food when school is not in session.
• The expansion of Postpartum Medicaid to provide coverage for a full year after giving birth (increased from only 60 days). With over 40 percent of women who give birth in Missouri relying on Medicaid, this is life-saving legislation for thousands of low-income mothers in our state!
• The passage of legislation that authorizes any municipality in the state with more than 1,500 inhabitants to start a land bank, a key government tool for dealing with abandoned and/or blighted properties. This is an important first step towards turning some of these properties into new affordable housing units.
• Removing the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity from Missouri law, an unjust policy with a well-documented history of being used to impose harsher punishment on Black and economically disadvantaged drug users.

With your donation, we can strengthen our base for future policy wins and significantly reduce poverty in Missouri.