ParaPride is an empowerment charity that advocates for the visibility, education and awareness of LGBTQ+ disabled people. We are a non-profit grassroots organisation focusing on the intersection of disability and LGBTQ+. We're entirely run by volunteers and our lived experiences stand at the core of our charity values. ParaPride started on the basis of a need to address the lack of inclusion for disabled people within the LGBTQ+ community; a need for more accessible LGBTQ+ spaces; and a need to promote body positivity around different bodies and being able to celebrate that. Given the high percentage of LGBTQ+ people that identify as having a disability, long term illness, and/or caring responsibilities, there is a stark lack of visibility and education that surrounds people who sit in the cross-section of these intersectional communities. ParaPride also wants to challenge the misrepresentation of the disabled people often portrayed as the vulnerable community in need of special care. We are much more than that. We do not want to be defined by our disabilities. We are only disabled by the barriers presented by society.