Honoring Blindness Awareness Month
Throughout the month of October, we are getting the word out far and wide about services, opportunities and achievements of people who are blind or have low vision.
On Oct. 8, Priscilla Yeung, manager in our Senior IMPACT Project, was a featured panelist at the 2024 Master Plan for Aging Day of Action. She shared her personal story of vision loss, the challenges she faced and the importance of getting training in non-visual skills. More than 500 people attended the biannual event in downtown Sacramento, which was joined virtually by another 700 participants. The focus was on elevating current and future issues impacting older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.
Blindness Awareness Month also puts a spotlight on employment of people with vision loss. A recent survey by the American Foundation for the Blind found that only 40% of people who are blind or have low vision are employed. At Society for the Blind, we are committed to getting our clients ready to return to the workforce and helping them retain employment. The advances in assistive technologies and more recent applications of AI within these assistive tools, are creating more career opportunities for people who are blind than ever before.
Still, too many of our clients get rejected for an initial interview once a potential employer learns they are blind. They are not given the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities and make the case for hiring them. What many employers don’t realize is that people with vision loss and other disabilities have to constantly adapt to their surroundings and situations, using problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Of our 40 staff members, nearly half are blind or have low vision. They demonstrate on a daily basis that there are no boundaries you cannot overcome due to vision loss. At a time when capable employees can be hard to find, please give serious consideration to hiring someone who is blind or has low vision.
Vision loss is a life-changing experience, but it is not the end of a fulfilling life. Society for the Blind is here to provide the training, support and experience that will enable someone with vision loss to regain their independence and continue to live life to its fullest.
As we celebrate our 70th anniversary this month, now more than ever, we want to make sure that anyone in the Sacramento region experiencing vision loss or blindness can find their way to Society for the Blind. Help us spread the word so that people living with low vision and blindness can discover, develop and achieve their full potential.