Missouri Community Action Network

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended renter eviction protections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium (originally expiring this Wednesday, March 30) is now extended through the end of June. #COVID19 #CDC #housing #eviction #publichealth

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Missouri CAN was born 50 years ago today! Well, Missouri Association for Community Action was born. We may have had a name change several years ago, but our mission stayed the same: support Community Action Agencies across the state and advocate for individuals and families with low-incomes. Cheers to 50 years of #helpingpeople and #changinglives! #huggyheart #CommunityAction

In August 2020, Missourians voted for #Medicaid expansion. More than 53% of voters said the health care program should broaden to include more than 200,000 more Missourians. Today, Republican members of the House Budget Committee voted down House Bill 20, which would have provided funding for the Medicaid expansion that voters approved. https://www.columbiamissourian.com//article_b207adb6-8d9e-

Missouri cut funding to the Springfield NAMI’s warmline program last summer, during the pandemic when people were needing more support. But recently, the OACAC Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation invested some of its CARES Act funds to bring the service back. The agency saw the need during its recent Community Needs Assessment. The results across our 10-county service area showed a need for mental health supports, Lindsey Dumas-Bell of OACAC said. We use those results... to develop projects. We reached out to bring the warmline back. Unlike a hotline for those in immediate crisis, warmlines provide early intervention with emotional support that can prevent a crisisand a more costly 911 call or ER visit. The lines are typically free, confidential peer-support services staffed by volunteers or paid employees who have experienced mental health conditions themselves. Read more here: https://www.ozarksfirst.com//namis-warmline-program-to-re/

The American Rescue Plan, the #COVID19 relief bill that was signed into law by President Biden on Thursday, is the most far-reaching anti-poverty legislation in more than 50 years. It will: - send $1,400 checks to adults and child dependents, - extend bonus federal unemployment benefits through September, - increase the child tax credit for 2021, - offer subsidies to help low-income people in states that didn’t expand Medicaid purchase health insurance on the ACA marketplace...s, - provide housing vouchers for people at risk of homelessnes, and - boost the earned income tax credit (EITC) for adults without kids. https://www.vox.com//joe-biden-american-rescue-plan-war-on See more

While most news focuses on stimulus payments, Biden's #COVID19 relief bill includes something that could be a game changer for child poverty. The plan establishes a child tax credit benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for the poor and the middle class at a time when the volatile modern economy often leaves families moving between those groups.