Texas Disability History Collection

Helping Restore Ability was founded as the Arlington Handicapped Association in 1977 by a young man with polio, Sam Provence, and his determined friends. They believed with unswerving passion that a physical disability should not keep a person from participating fully in society and living an independent and active life. As services expanded beyond the city limits, Arlington Handicapped Association was renamed the Handicapped Resource Association in 1988. Beginning in 1999, Arlington Handicapped Association began doing business as Helping Restore Ability, a name that reflects the goals and mission without the implied restrictions of the word ‘handicapped.’ The legal name was changed to Helping Restore Ability in 2011. The organization helps Texans with disabilities and their families to find the care they need, and envisions a future in which no Texan with a disability lacks the resources they need to live a full and independent life.