Arizona Recreation Center For The Handicapped

ARCH is a 5-acre recreation center in the heart of Phoenix, offering a full range of skills-based programs and activities, enabling adults and children with developmental disabilities to obtain higher levels of physical well-being, pride, independence, and self-esteem. We opened our doors on September 23rd 1975 to 25 teens and adults in an old cafetorium at the abandoned Alhambra Elementary School on Grand Avenue. A founding premise of ARCH was that individuals with disabilities should be given every opportunity to develop, both physically and mentally, to the full extent of his or her potential.

It's been over 45 years since the Arizona Recreation Center for the Handicapped (ARCH) was founded. Because of unmet needs among individuals of all ages with special needs, there was never a question of motive or purpose when ARCH first opened its doors in 1975. While our initial focus was to provide individuals with disabilities with extensive opportunities to acquire socialization skills, ARCH has continued to refine and expand its services to meet the ever changing needs of our community. The unfailing application of a personal and compassionate approach to our clientele has enabled ARCH to retain its essential character through the years.