Paraquad in the Spotlight: A Year of Advocacy and Awareness in 2025
2025 was a landmark year for Paraquad, marked by major milestones and significant media recognition. As we celebrated 55 years of empowering the St. Louis disability community, our mission of championing equity and independence reached more homes than ever before through high-profile features in local and regional media.
From the television screen to the front page of the newspaper, Paraquad’s message was clear: Independence is a right, not a privilege.
Celebrating 55 Years on Show Me St. Louis
In November, we were thrilled to be featured on KSDK’s Show Me St. Louis. The segment highlighted Paraquad’s 55-year legacy of leadership in the Independent Living movement, showcasing the Stephen A. Orthwein Center and the life-changing services we provide daily.
The feature served as a powerful lead-up to our 55th Anniversary Celebration, bringing awareness to our core programs—from peer support to adaptive fitness—and introducing our new CEO, Latosha Fowlkes, to the broader St. Louis community.
Front Page Advocacy: The SMART Coalition
One of our proudest moments in 2025 was seeing our advocacy work take center stage. Paraquad’s leadership within the SMART (St. Louis Metropolitan Alliance for Reliable Transit) coalition was featured on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The coverage spotlighted our urgent calls for a safer, more accessible, and more reliable public transportation system. The SMART coalition has been instrumental in advocating for:
Equitable Transit: Ensuring that paratransit services like Call-A-Ride meet the needs of those who rely on them for work, medical care, and community engagement.
Driver Support: Pushing for fair pay for operators to address staffing shortages that directly impact service reliability.
System Accountability: Demanding that disability voices are included in every level of regional transit planning.
Being on the front page was more than just a news story; it was a validation of the collective power of advocates working together to remove systemic barriers in our city.