QUAD was founded in 1975 by E.W. “Bud” Myers, an appliance repairman who experienced a spinal cord injury from a diving accident in the Sandy River. Bud soon realized that the Portland area had no accessible housing or support services that would allow newly injured quadriplegics to adjust to their injury and become accustomed to living life with a major disability.
What Bud lacked in experience and connections, he more than made up for with his unique vision and drive to accomplish his goals. Bud was able to bring together donors, contractors and, advocates and by 1980 they opened Myers Court, QUAD’s original community.
Myers Court received national attention for being America’s first independent living center not affiliated with a hospital or rehabilitation center. Its pioneering, barrier-free design predated the wheelchair accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act by a decade.
Today, QUAD‘s Board of Directors is focused on strengthening and sustaining the organization for the future, persisting in Bud’s original mission to provide the best possible combination of quality housing and independent living services while maintaining effective and judicious resource management.
QUAD plans to develop additional apartments in the future so that one day more people with physical disabilities will be able to find the resources they need to thrive and the independence they deserve.
Every donation helps provide people in need with accessible, affordable, livable housing
