Our Mission
Vision
We envision a liberated St. Louis where queer and trans people of all identities are safe, secure, and empowered through compassion, healing, and community.
Mission
SQSH is a grassroots nonprofit that nurtures connection, healing, and empowerment within our St. Louis Metro Area’s LGBTQIA+ community.
We build bridges across identities, cultures, and experiences through peer support, resource connection, education, and advocacy — strengthening our community’s capacity to care for ourselves and each other.
Values
-
We act with sincerity, compassion, and courage.
-
We listen, learn, and evolve together, repairing harm and deepening trust with openness and humility.
-
We honor healing, resilience, and sustainability as essential to personal and collective liberation.
-
We build bridges between identities, cultures, and experiences through empathy, respect, and authentic relationships.
-
We uplift community voices and practice transparency. We build collective power by growing individuals’ skills and sharing knowledge with peers.
-
We adapt to change with curiosity and courage, embracing experimentation as a path to growth.
-
We act with intention and patience, investing in the people, relationships, and structures that sustain lasting transformation.
Meet Our Co-Founder
“I’m a trans-masculine, genderqueer, and pansexual person born and raised in Singapore, which I experienced to be a highly homophobic and transphobic country. Without any LGBTQIA+ role models to or queer-affirming peers, I grew up feeling alien and small. I found the courage to come out when I came to the U.S., joined the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ community, and found myself in a more queer-affirming environment.
I am on a lifelong journey to move towards self-trust, community connection, and meaningful relationships. That’s why I dedicated myself to founding SQSH – to create the resources I wish I had, and to give back to the community became my home.”
— Luka (they/them), SQSH Co-Founder
