Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled
Helping Hands breeds, raises, trains, and provides, free of charge,
capuchin monkeys to assist severely disabled individuals -- e.g.,
quadriplegics (paralyzed from the neck down), whether by accident,
injury, or disease -- with daily activities we take for granted such as
eating and drinking, using books, computers, and audio-visual
equipment, turning lights on and off, repositioning an arm or leg
after a muscle spasm, even scratching an annoying itch. In many cases
the monkeys make it possible for people to work from their homes. The
advantages of monkeys for animal support are greater intelligence, far
greater dexterity, and much longer lifespan -- 30-40 years. Helping
Hands has placed over 60 monkeys nationwide, provided customized
adaptive equipment, in-home training for the injured individuals,
their health care attendants and family members, and behavioral and
veterinary support for the monkey's lifespan. Each placement costs
Helping Hands $25,000. Now that the value and viability of the program
have been proven, HH is raising its productivity to a higher power by
creating a full-scale, permanent, state-of-the-art Training and
Respite Center in a 150-year-old abandoned Boston church. They have
been awarded a $1 million challenge grant to get this project off the
ground. Now they must match that, and your helping hand is needed!

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