People in West Norfolk urged to find out more about sight loss
People with vision impairments across the region are being “shut out of society”, but if members of the public knew more about living with sight loss that could change.
That’s according to research released by the charity Guide Dogs, whose report called By My Side reveals that under two-fifths of people across the East of England with sight loss feel they are “left out” of everyday moments that others take for granted.
This feeling of isolation is compounded as more than half of blind or VI (vision impaired) people believe that society has “little understanding” of the challenges they face in their daily lives.
By My Side shares insights from the VI community – which is currently two million people in the UK – asking about experiences of their local communities, family life, parenting, love and friendships.
Gill Southgate, 63, from Lynn, lost her eyesight in a car accident when she was 18. She now has a Guide dog, a black Labrador called Yazmin.
Gill lost her independence and social life very suddenly, depriving her of her desire to be a normal teenager.
She did not want a guide dog which would “draw attention” to her.
She used the long cane but quickly found she was slow and not getting about as independently as she wanted to.
Six years later she applied for a guide dog which changed her life.
Gill got married and had two sons and started working as a medical secretary at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
She said: “Over the past 37 years my guide dogs have not only provided me with companionship and safety when out and about, but have enable me to have the courage to become a blind mum, knowing that I could take my two boys out independently and with confidence.”
To create greater understanding, Guide Dogs is calling on people to sign up to My Guide, a guiding service that matches trained sighted volunteers to people with sight loss who need support getting out and about.
To find out more about Guide Dogs, or to sign up, visit www.guidedogs.org.uk.
