Envisioning Access

Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled is a national nonprofit serving quadriplegic and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility-impairments by providing highly trained monkeys to assist with daily activities. We raise and train these monkeys to act as live-in companions who, over the course of 20-30 years, will provide the gifts of independence, companionship, dignity and hope to the people they help. Helping Hands also educates thousands of young people annually through the Spinal Cord Injury Prevention Program (SCIPP). SCIPP teaches preventive measures for safety awareness, heightens sensitivity to the challenges of being disabiled, and promotes understanding of the human-animal bond. Monkey-helpers are placed at no cost to the individuals they serve. Monkeys are trained to respond to a wide range of recipients' needs from fetching a drink to repositioning arms or legs after muscle spasms. Monkey-helpers and their placement are free to our recipients.