WILLIAM BARRY: Because never in my life I... ever... would be doing something like this.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: William Berry was a star athlete growing up in Gilpin Court.

He wasn't quite as big as the other football and basketball players, so he relied on hard work and his smarts.

<< You can always learn something every day.

>> WILLIAM BARRY: All my life, it was struggle [that] I had to prove over, and over and over again wherever I went and wherever I played at in sports to get my reputation.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: He stayed active as an adult, but in 2005 Barry noticed something was wrong.

WILLIAM BARRY: I wasn't able to raise up my left arm all the way up, and then I had pain [and] a limp in my left hip.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: He went to the doctor and discovered he'd had a stroke.

Eventually, he lost the ability to walk and talk and struggled using his hands.

WILLIAM BARRY: My hand were closed.

I wasnt able to roll the wheelchair, so I had use the heel of my foot to make the wheelchair go forward or backward.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: After hours of physical therapy and working on exercises at home, Barry finally regained the use of his hands and now he's volunteering at Sheltering Arms.

Helping others with disabilities.

Barry and a group of physical therapists at Club Rec Sheltering Arms are using a new tool to aid in recovery.

WILLIAM BARRY: With the garden and plant that we have, to me it's a therapy.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: This spring, Sheltering Arms partnered with Babylon Micro-Farms, a Richmond-based company that uses hydroponic farming to make gardening more accessible.

NICOLE STAUFFER: It helps them live their best lives.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Nicole Stauffer runs a day program at Sheltering Arms for people with physical disabilities.

<< There you go.

And put it in there.

>> On the day we met them, Stauffer was helping members make a recipe using items they'd grown.

NICOLE STAUFFER: We used basil from our garden behind us.

We're learning how to use things in the kitchen, how some of our members can only use one arm so learning how to adapt to that and cut up stuff.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: She says having to hold and chop vegetables helps with fine motor skills.

NICOLE STAUFFER: Whereas some people to us that seems so easy.

But for our members here, that can be a really hard task for them to do.

And doing this gives them the confidence that they can still cook.

They can still do things at home that any typical person would do.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Babylon Micro-Farms says it's happy to be able to bring a positive experience with produce to the community.

SHARON RETTINGER: It's getting to see people's eyes light up and getting to engage with our farms because there's really nothing else out there like this.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: For Barry and the other Club Rec members, they say planting is part of their therapy.

WILLIAM BARRY: What I do with the plant and the garden help my fingers.

You always need to stay active.

It never end - the battle - after you have a stroke.

Every day, you need to stay active and be motivated to keep focus upon that therapy.

ADRIENNE HOAR McGIBBON: Adrienne Hoar McGibbon, VPM News.