More information
Description
There are various types of obstacles limiting the ability of blind/visually impaired people to participate in community life - from those relating to architecture and transportation to psychological barriers. This can cause them to withdraw from community life, and also from cultural life. Carers of blind/visually impaired people should not break down the particular life know-how that blind people have developed, but present new solutions. It is important to change the approach taken towards blind people - taking on the role of guide instead of the most common approach, which is to ''do things for them''. Carers at community welfare centers and homes who are assigned to the people we have been in touch with do not know how to do this. We see an urgent need for training for carers of blind/visually impaired people, so that the help provided has true value. No one can teach carers better than blind people themselves. The project aims to educate specialist carers of blind people and develop blind people''s other senses that might partially replace sight. The participants in the project will be carers of people with disabilities in Gdynia, Sopot, and Rumia. We will conduct a six-month training course for carers, consisting of workshops on the subject of eye diseases and disorders, disability psychology, and eleven one-on-one sessions between the carer and blind volunteer instructor. The sessions will be held at the home of the blind person and outside (in shops, public transport, restaurants). We will also organize a workshop on advocacy for the blind and visually impaired, attended by carers of blind people, volunteers, their family, and instructors. We will release a brochure with recommendations on how to behave towards blind/visually impaired people. In the project, 10 carers of people with disabilities will improve their qualifications. 14 blind people and their carers will be able to conduct self-advocacy activities.
Summary of project results
We know from the people with disabilities whom we contacted before the project began that carers for blind people and people with vision impairment often do their daily activities for them, instead of assisting them with a self-reliant lifestyle. We found an urgent need for training for carers of blind people and people with vision impairment, so that they are provided with truly valuable support that suits their needs. To provide training of the highest quality, we decided to give the task of conducting the training to people with visual impairment.Eighteen carers from Gdynia, Sopot and Rumia were given training on professional care for a person with visual impairment. The training was provided one-on-one (44-48 hours per person) and conducted by self-advocates with vision impairment. The sessions were conducted at the home of the trainer, and in locations such as a store, public transport, and a restaurant. To enable other people and organisations to benefit from our know-how, we created a training information pack, which we posted on our website. We also released a training brochure for carers, relatives of people with vision impairment, and organisations wishing to conduct similar training. We also held two meetings on the support available for people with vision impairment and their carers.In the training, carers learnt to provide support for people with vision impairment in dealing with daily issues and in using senses other than sight. Due to the project, people who are assisted by carers can expect support that matches their needs.We enabled four people with vision impairment to engage in self-advocacy. The training provided by self-advocates made eighteen people capable of applying better methods of support matching the needs of people with vision impairment. The project will help to make people with vision impairment more self-reliant, and reduce the level of social exclusion of this group.
.
.