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

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