Partnering to Provide Low Vision Eye Care

Helen Keller famously said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” That statement encapsulates a partnership that was established a year ago between Society for the Blind and the Stockton-based Community Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CCBVI).

It all began in the fall of 2023, when Elsie Hirata, executive director of CCBVI, and I were discussing ways to provide more services. Elsie mentioned that the people served at her agency could really benefit from a low vision clinic. We discussed what was involved in setting up a clinic, and as we talked, we landed on an idea that enabled both agencies to do more together for the people we served.

In March of 2024, we entered into a partnership where Society’s Low Vision Clinic would provide eye care services and occupational therapy at CCBVI to clients living in the San Joaquin Valley. In the first year, we have seen 50 patients, providing low vision evaluations, occupational therapy and assistive devices. Most patients become clients of CCBVI where they learn blindness skills, such as orientation and mobility and assistive technology.

“This partnership has enabled us to provide comprehensive services to people living with vision loss in Stockton, Modesto and the greater San Joaquin Valley,” said Elsie Hirata. She noted that being able to attain a low vision evaluation closer to home was a significant help to CCBVI’s clients.

As we mark one year of this Low Vision Clinic partnership, we are exploring the possibility of adding another clinic day in Stockton and looking at other opportunities to partner with agencies. Cancellation rates have dropped because patients no longer have to find transportation to get to Sacramento, something that can be very challenging.

Society for the Blind’s Low Vision Clinic has been in operation for 50 years, and we are delighted to partner with CCBVI to bring low vision eye care services to more people.

If you or someone you know is experiencing vision loss, please reach out to Society’s Low Vision Clinic. Together, we can ensure that people living with low vision or blindness can discover, develop and achieve their full potential.