Help Haps

Why Give to HAPS?

Since 1974, Houston Area Parkinson Society has been serving the needs of families living with Parkinson’s. Established as the first-known independent support group in the U.S. specifically for Parkinson’s disease in what is now the fourth largest city in the nation with a current population of approximately 6 million people, HAPS is the only social service agency that provides comprehensive services which addresses the medical, physical and emotional issues that accompany Parkinson’s in the greater Houston area.

A small staff of four and twenty contract therapists in multiple disciplines provide 138 water, exercise, speech and music therapy sessions a month under the supervision of licensed physical, occupational and speech therapists along with tai chi, dance, singing and tango. And under the supervision of licensed master’s level social workers, HAPS provides numerous support groups, including monthly Caregiver groups, monthly Patient groups, a monthly Newly Diagnosed group, a monthly Crossroads group and a bi-monthly Young Onset group totaling 1,700 sessions offered free of charge to participants in a wide geographic area in 24 locations throughout metropolitan Houston.

Last year, the HAPS intake and referral lines received between 200 and 250 calls per month. Most of those are were requests for information but, at any given time, the HAPS social workers handle 25 – 30 ongoing individual cases needing multiple calls and/or home visits for multiple services. Through collaboration with the American Red Cross we provided an average of 130 van rides per month to an average of 20 riders a month. Last year, 9 clients received services through our subsidized respite care program providing, on average, over 170 hours of respite care per month.

Your gift helps HAPS succeed in its mission: to improve the quality of life for those affected by Parkinson’s disease through services, education and advocacy.