Missourians to End Poverty (MEP)
June 14th Poverty Summit
"Empowering Communities for Economic Opportunity"
Click Here for Registration Information
Who are the Missourians to End Poverty? (Click here to see a list of participating organizations)
Missourians to End Poverty is the coalition of various individuals, businesses, organizations and government agencies who have come together around the following vision:
As Missourians, we envision a just society of shared responsibility by individuals, communities, business, and government in which all individuals are respected, have opportunities to reach their full potential and to participate in thriving, diverse, sustainable communities.
As the planning group behind the June 9th Poverty Summit, Missourians to End Poverty is continuing to meet in order to plan regional summits across the state to find ways to meet the following goals within the next ten years:
- By 2020 a cadre of 5000 leaders committed to ending poverty will exist within Missouri communities.
- By 2020, a coalition of 50 organizations will have established a network of advocates committed to ending poverty.
- By 2020, a statewide plan to end poverty is embedded and integrated within 50 Missouri communities or organizations.
- By 2020, Missouri will have adopted policies and established systems that provide an opportunity for people with limited resources to reach their full potential.
Missouri is a state rich in beauty and prosperity, in education and opportunity, in security and health, in values and vision. Yet, within our richness, lies poverty and fear, hunger and homelessness, unmet potential and despair. Missourians to End Poverty came together to plan a summit this past June, where 425 people met to discuss the issue of poverty and how we can create change for the benefit of all communities. In order to find ways to reach these goals, the MEP group has identified 5 pillars of poverty.
As a result of the continuing work done by the Missourians to End Poverty the following
public policy papers have been developed for each of the 5 pillars of poverty:
Food Health Education Energy & Housing Economic & Family Security
Hunger
In 2007, 310,000 Missouri families struggled to meet their basic food needs.
Health
The number of uninsured people in Missouri rose to 772,000 in 2007.
Education
Approximately 19,300 students did not graduate from Missouri's high schools in 2007. The lost lifetime earnings in Missouri for that class of dropouts alone are more than $5 billion.
Housing and Energy
Low income families pay an average of 46% of their income just for housing and energy.
Economic and Family Security
926,000 Missourians live in poverty...340,000 of them are children
For more information or to become involved in Missourians to End Poverty, contact Brenda Stegeman at bstegeman@communityaction.org.