Paraquad

🌈 Spotlight

Throughout Pride Month, we will celebrate leaders whose work reminds us that inclusion is stronger when it embraces the full diversity of human experience.

This week, we're highlighting Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a q***r, disabled writer, educator, and organizer whose work has helped shape conversations around Disability Justice, accessibility, and community care.

Through their writing and advocacy, Leah has encouraged us to think beyond accommodation and toward building communities where everyone belongs and can participate fully.

At its May board meeting, the St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources approved a $18,079 investment in Paraquad's Continuing Education, People First, and Transportation programs.

In FY27, DD Resources approved $7,654,593 in total community investments supporting almost 1,600 individuals and families across St. Louis City. These publicly funded services help residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) live more independently in an inclusive community that maximizes individual abilities.

Learn more about DD Resources at STLDD.org

🌈 Today marks the first day of !

At Paraquad, we recognize that people bring many identities, experiences, and perspectives to our community. Throughout June, we'll be exploring the intersection of disability and LGBTQ+ identities, highlighting topics such as intersectionality, Disability Justice, and resources that help create more inclusive communities.

We'll also be spotlighting LGBTQ+ leaders whose work has helped shape disability rights, advocacy, and culture.

This week's topic is intersectionality.

Intersectionality is the idea that people can hold multiple identities at the same time, and those identities can shape how they experience the world. For example, a person may identify as both LGBTQ+ and a person with a disability.

Building inclusive communities means understanding and valuing the full experiences of the people we serve.

This Pride Month, we're celebrating the diversity of our community and reaffirming our commitment to equity, accessibility, and belonging for all.

Today is , a day dedicated to raising awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS) and recognizing the millions of people worldwide living with this complex neurological condition.

MS can affect mobility, energy, vision, cognition, and many other aspects of daily life, but it does not define a person's potential, independence, or contribution to their community.

At Paraquad, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live independently, access their community, and pursue the life they choose.

We offer a MS Support Group once a month - on the first Monday of every month at 10:30 a.m. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Kiland Sampa at [email protected]. Learn more at paraquad.org/independent-living-services/peer-services

📢 We're Hiring: Executive Assistant

Are you highly organized, detail-oriented, and passionate about supporting mission-driven work?

Paraquad is seeking an Executive Assistant to provide administrative support to our CEO and leadership team while helping ensure the smooth operation of our organization. This is an opportunity to play a key role behind the scenes at a nonprofit dedicated to advancing equity and independence for people with disabilities.

At Paraquad, you'll join a team committed to advocacy, accessibility, and creating a more inclusive community for all.

Ready to make a difference?

Apply today: https://paraquad.aaimtrack.com/jobs/1306186

The Orthwein Center will be closed on Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day.

Today is the 15th annual . The purpose of is to get everyone talking, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than one billion people globally who live with a disability or impairment.

At Paraquad, accessibility means more than ramps and automatic doors. It means accessible transportation, inclusive workplaces, adaptive technology, digital access, community connection, and the freedom to live independently.

When accessibility improves, opportunities expand.

As we recognize , we encourage everyone to think about the barriers that still exist and the role we all play in removing them.

Because independence should never depend on access.

Advocacy is one of Paraquad’s core services — and this year, that work continued at the Missouri State Capitol.

Throughout the 2026 legislative session, Paraquad’s Public Policy and Advocacy team tracked 27 bills related to disability rights, healthcare, accessibility, transportation, and independent living. Alongside advocates and community partners across the state, we worked to ensure the voices of people with disabilities were heard.

Read more about the legislation, budget decisions, and disability advocacy efforts that shaped this year’s session in our latest blog post available at paraquad.org/news/2026-missouri-legislative-session-wrap-up

🚨🚨Take action now!🚨🚨

A lawsuit currently working its way through the federal courts, Texas v. Kennedy (commonly called the "504 lawsuit"), poses a serious threat to the rights of people with disabilities in Missouri and across the country.

The case targets a 2024 federal rule designed to help people with disabilities live, work, and receive services in their own communities rather than in institutional settings. That rule is grounded in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the landmark Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., both of which affirm that people with disabilities should not be forced into institutions when they can and want to live in their communities. For decades, courts have recognized that Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act work in concert to protect that right.

Missouri remains one of only seven states still participating in this lawsuit. That number tells an important story. Of the 18 original plaintiff states, more than half have already withdrawn, including Indiana and South Dakota, which dropped out most recently. State after state has reconsidered its position and chosen to step back. Missouri should do the same.

Paraquad is calling on Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to follow the lead of Indiana, South Dakota, and the other states that have withdrawn, and drop Missouri from this lawsuit. A ruling against this rule could erode the Olmstead protections that many Missourians with disabilities depend on to live full, self-directed lives in their communities. We believe that people with disabilities deserve to live with dignity alongside their neighbors, and that no one should be forced out of their community simply to access the services they need.

If you share these concerns, please take a moment to contact Attorney General Hanaway's office. The more you can personalize your message with your own story or perspective, the greater the impact.

And don't forget to share this message with your network.

Contact information for Attorney General Hanaway's office: ago.mo.gov/about-us/contact-us/

Did you know that Paraquad partners with The Salvation Army for culinary classes. Adults with disabilities are invited to participate in our 15-week training program where they will learn sanitation and food safety, knife safety skills, cooking and baking skills, and customer service skills. They will also receive their ServSafe certification as a part of the program.

It's application season for our Summer semester. You can learn more about the program and application process at https://paraquad.org/employment-services/culinary-training-program.