In 1958 children with disabilities who lived at home and were being cared for by their parents were not entitled to a public education. It was at this time that a group of parents and other concerned citizens gathered together in the interest of these children. Despite what they were being told by educational and medical professionals they saw the potential of these children and felt that they could benefit from educational experiences and opportunities.

In 1960 this same group organized themselves as a non-profit agency as the Utah Valley Care and Training Center. Their mission was to provide opportunities for disabled children in Utah County including a dream of building a school for them.

During the next few years they sought the support of other like minded individuals in the community and were able to provide educational experiences to disabled children. This school was located in a small "borrowed" home in Provo. A small staff and many volunteers helped to run the school. Many wonderful experiences were shared as the children were given new opportunities to learn and grow.

It wasn't long before they began to outgrow their borrowed surroundings. They needed a home of their own. Plans began to raise funds to build a small school. With the support of community businesses, citizens, private donors, and volunteers their dream was working it's way into becoming a reality.

A land lease was acquired from Provo City and plans were made. The groundbreaking was held on November 5, 1964. Two and one half years later the donations and volunteer hours paid off when on May 4, 1967 the Utah Valley Care and Training Center building was dedicated.

Educational experiences continued in this building for several more years until local school districts were mandated to educate all children including those who had disabilities. For several years following this change, the school building was used by the Provo School district to house an early intervention program for disabled school children.

In 1971 under the direction of the Utah Valley Care and Training Center Board of Directors Recreation for All Handicapped (RAH) was started. Through this program, Individuals with disabilities of all ages were given social and recreational opportunities. This program grew to include a variety of support services for individuals with disabilities, including: employment support, classes and training in areas of personal development, community awareness, service opportunities, recreation, social skills training, sports and much more.

In 1993 the Utah Valley Care and Training Center board of directors decided to change the name of the corporation and business to Recreation and Habilitation Services (RAH). This change not only removed from the program name, the word "Handicapped" which carried a negative connotation and was offensive to many of the people in our program but we were also able add the word Habilitation which more clearly describes what we do. Think of it this way. A person who has a traumatic injury or illness goes to re-habilitation to be able to get themselves back to the level of functioning they had previous to the damaging event. The people we work with have for the most part have not had the opportunities to reach their full potential or highest level of functioning, therefore we are helping to habilitate them.
The name change also allowed us to Keep RAH as our nickname. Which is also important to the people that we provide services for. It is a symbol of the enthusiasm they have for life and learning and growing.

Today RAH serves individuals with disabilities who are age 4 and older. When you add up the all the programs that we offer during the course of one month we have a combined enrollment of over 1100.

Our home is still the small school that was opened in 1967. It remains much the same today as it did then except for room expansion which allows us hold large gatherings at our building rather than having to rent an outside hall. The building is showing it's age and we are seeking funding to update mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. But, despite the wear and tear that has resulted from years of loving use, it is our home.

And as it did in the beginning it provides a haven for individuals with disabilities who are still sometimes discriminated against as were the children in 1958 who were not allowed to attend public school. We continue today with the same goal as the founders did...to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities. They continue to be our inspiration and...our reward.

RAH's Mission Statement:

RAH is committed to supporting people with disabilities in their pursuit of
independence and self-enhancement through training,
recreation and involvement in their community.