SEATTLE — February is Low Vision Awareness month and a Seattle nonprofit is celebrating the remarkable impact they’ve made over the last 105 years.
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc., creates opportunities for independence and self-sufficiency for people who are blind, DeafBlind, and blind with other disabilities.
President and CEO George Abbott said providing “resources and hope” is a big part of what makes the organization so important.
“I think people would be surprised to know that we have a world-class manufacturing operation and that blind people can operate quite a bit of complicated machinery and do it just as successfully, if not more successfully, than their sighted peers,” said Abbott.
Abbott was born blind due to underdeveloped optic nerves and knows all too well how challenging it can be to compete in school, find employment and graduate college.
“We have really great highly skilled training and work with government contracts and in the aerospace field,” said Abbott.
Much of the leadership at Lighthouse for the Blind is visually impaired and leads with compassion and service to their community.
Low vision is generally defined as a vision decrease that cannot be corrected with conventional glasses or contact lenses, which interferes with the performance of daily living tasks. Examples of eye conditions that can cause low vision include macular degeneration, glaucoma, inherited retinal conditions, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and more.
In March 2020, Lighthouse expanded its programs to include Low Vision Rehabilitation Services, Low Vision Clinic, and a Low Vision Store to provide guests with a one-stop solution for professional help and take-home resources.
Amy Koehl is the vice president of employee and community services with Lighthouse. She said the demand for those programs speaks for itself.
“We’ve helped over 500 people since we opened the Low Vision clinic in 2020 and currently we have a waitlist and are hoping to expand and hire an additional optometrist,” said Koehl.
She said more than 30,000 people in the Puget Sound region could benefit from low-vision services.
“I suspect there’s a lot more people out there we could help and maybe don’t know we exist,” said Koehl.
Maya Herzog is an occupational therapist with Lighthouse for the Blind and focuses on helping people do the things they love again.
Herzog works with people to leverage new and existing resources such as adaptive tools and technology for activities including reading, writing and cooking.
“Being able to give them an evaluation and then some training and rehab with our store full of helpful products really makes this rewarding,” said Herzog.
Lighthouse For the Blind, Inc supports also includes in-house sign language interpreting.
You can learn more about Low Vision Services online and take advantage of monthly webinars focusing on low vision and technology.
The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. is located at 2501 South Plum Street in Seattle. The nonprofit can be reached by phone at (206) 322-4200 or (800) 914-7307.