American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Outreach Worker Handbook

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INFORMATION FOR NEWLY BLIND, OLDER PEOPLE

Most of the fifty thousand Americans who become blind every year are sixty years of age or older. Though they constitute the majority of the blind, they receive a small fraction of service dollars expended on the blind each year. There are several reasons for this inequitable service delivery. Among the most important is that many older people lack information about what is available. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, through outreach workers like you, helps fill the information void for newly blind, older people.

• Does your community have congregate meal programs where older people get together for lunch and a recreational or instructional seminar? Perhaps you can speak about blindness to these groups.
• Is there an organization which delivers meals to homebound people? Perhaps the volunteers who distribute the food can help you make contact with the blind people they serve.
• Is there a visiting nurses program in your community? They undoubtedly work with blind people and would be glad for any assistance you can provide.
• Does your local private agency for the blind have a training or recreation program for senior citizens? A visit would familiarize you with its services.
• Does the state rehabilitation agency for the blind have teachers who visit the homes of the elderly to help them learn to cope with blindness? If you know the agency's eligibility and referral requirements, as well as the scope of their services, this information will be important to offer the newly blind, elderly people you meet.
• Does the library for the blind in your state have special outreach services for the elderly? Let the local special-needs librarian know about the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, and offer to assist in finding people who need the library.
• Are there blind people living in nursing homes in your community? It is estimated that at least 4 percent of all nursing home residents are blind. Most facilities would be glad to have someone provide an in-service training workshop on blindness for the staff.
• Have older residents of your community formed self-help organizations? It is likely that your local chapter of the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) or a similar group would be glad to have you speak at a meeting.

The list of possibilities is virtually endless. Use your imagination to develop those ideas which will work best in your area. Keep the executive director informed. Other American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers will want to duplicate your successes.

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