Services

On average, 250 people a day start to lose their eyesight in the UK. Statistics show only 17% of people that experience sight loss are offered emotional support. Blind Ambition stands to offer stability and care for people who are directly experiencing sight loss as well as those who are indirectly experiencing it.

For many people living with sight loss, one of the biggest issues they face is their family and friends not knowing how to deal with their disability. This is especially true for those who have recently been diagnosed. We offer emotional support to families and friends through our own collective experience of how best to deal with issues that they are struggling with.

Whether it be: living adjustments, training as a  sighted guide, advice on coping mechanisms or simply listening to those affected by sight loss. Blind Ambition will be there every step of the way to offer the best guidance and to provide the support that is  needed.

Understanding the needs of people with sight loss is key to sourcing help. We work closely with service users (service users includes people with sight loss, families, friends, carers, schools, employers) to tackle them. One of the ways we do this is by conducting home visits to offer our support for any of the difficulties they may be facing. We understand that sight loss diagnosis is just the first step and that there is a journey ahead. We conduct home visits to accommodate the needs of service users who may not be as confident in the initial stages of their journey. We ensure that we truly understand on both a professional and personal level the needs that people face. One of the best ways to do this is through home visits. Every story is different and to offer the best support, it is essential to recognise the individuality of each case and each service user.

One of the biggest challenges facing people with sight loss, particularly those who have recently been diagnosed is adjusting to day to day living.

Mobility

We offer mobility training to make it easy for our service users to adjust to living with sight loss. Whether it be learning to walk with a cane or learning key routes, Blind Ambition will work with our service users to offer support and stability to make this transition in their life as smooth and easy as possible.

 Daily Activities

We offer help and training to effectively use the right equipment for daily and routine household chores such as cooking, health and safety, aids and equipment use (i.e. magnifier, liquid indicators etc). Depending on the individual needs of service users, we can also contact other service providers, including social services to ensure the right and suitable training is received (e.g. guide dog training).

At Blind Ambition, we know the difficulties people face when it comes to being diagnosed with sight loss, particularly in the initial stages. This can have damaging effects on the state of mind of an individual who may be vulnerable to depression or other mental health conditions. People with sight loss are reported to have several associated conditions:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Diabetes

Roughly 31% of people with sight loss are rarely or never optimistic about their future.  From the projects we run and services we offer, it is our aim to encourage, motivate and work with service users on their emotional journeys. We also recognise that people with sight loss may be less physically active. In addition to the emotional support we offer, we aim to help in improving their overall health and well-being by motivating them to become more active (mentally, physically or socially). We stand by the statement ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ and this is a mind-set we promote actively. We aim to set up and carry out research projects to see if there are certain health conditions that visually impaired and blind people are more susceptible to. We also seek to remain fully informed of the most recent research and developments related to sight loss (e.g. stem Cell Research and Clinical Trials) so that our clients can take advantage of such developments as they arise.

We want to make sure educational providers as well as employers are offering the right support to people living with sight loss and will do this by increasing their awareness of visual impairments.

Employment

Only 27% of visually impaired and blind people of working age are in employment. This is a statistic we are actively looking to change. For many people with sight loss, particularly those who are diagnosed early in their life – education and employment can seem impossible for them. Blind Ambition’s key objective is to change this harsh reality and work to inspire service users in their search for employment. We do this by running projects focused around employability skills and offering workshops about gaining qualifications. We also work closely with employers and government bodies to ensure the right support is provided. We work with the ‘Access to Work’ schemes provided by the government to ensure that employers can meet the needs of visually impaired employees.  Blind Ambition was founded by people living with sight loss and actively looks to change the above mentioned employment statistic by employing visually impaired people as well as offering additional employment support.

Education

There is no age restriction on where and how to gain qualifications and when to start a career. Regardless of age, gender or disability, it is our goal to push service users to reach their educational goals. Through our work within local communities, we have created links with schools, colleges, universities and educational/professional bodies to improve these relationships with a view to better the lives of people with sight loss. We also work to ensure students in schools and colleges get the right support.

People with sight loss are amongst the most adversely affected in terms of their financial well- being. We often find service users are unaware of all the possible benefits and government support available to them to cope with their disabilities. We use our knowledge and experience of these services to assist people living with sight loss. We will be there with you every step of the way, ensuring the right documentation is completed for your specific needs. 

Adjusting to day to day living can be hard enough for people living with sight loss. Whether it is the fear of going out, socialising or even meeting new people, many visually impaired people can find themselves living lonely lives. To reduce social isolation, we aim to inspire people with confidence-building measures and introduce them to others who are going through similar life experiences. We run social groups and outdoor activities that will allow service users to meet new people, network and take part in activities they may not otherwise have considered possible for themselves. In line with our health and well-being objectives, we facilitate taking part in outdoor activities and events that are intended to keep them healthy and active.  Some of the activities we offer include: residential visits (e.g. adventure parks), driving experiences, sport sessions and team building exercises.

From inception, Blind Ambition has aimed to increase sight loss awareness within local communities. We find that sometimes blind and visually impaired people feel socially isolated. We want to ensure members of local communities get involved in our projects and interact with us. We also hold fundraising events thereby increasing awareness of living with sight loss. This will allow the wider community to understand what visually impaired people deal with on a day to day basis. Certain communities may have cultural taboos attached with visual impairments and other disabilities (e.g. not talking about them, pretending they don’t exist). We hope to remove these stigmas and increase overall awareness of sight loss.