Living with confidence
RNIB Northern Ireland Annual Review 2013/14
Contents
Making every day better
Our work in numbers
About us
Being there
Supporting independent living
Creating an inclusive society
Stopping people losing their sight unnecessarily
Your support
A brief look at our finances
Thank you
How you can help
Making every day better
David Mann, Chair of RNIB NI and David Galloway, Director of RNIB NI said:
“This annual review marks the end of RNIB’s 2009/14 five-year plan. It would be impossible to list all of our successes over that period, but here are just some of our more recent achievements of which we, in Northern Ireland, are particularly proud.
This final year of the strategy period 2013/14 had many ‘firsts’ for Northern Ireland. Derry Central Library became the first library to receive the RNIB Northern Ireland Excellence Award through our Sensory Engagement Programme, and with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we created the first social history of blindness in Northern Ireland entitled ‘A Sense of the Past’.
A new partnership with Shopmobility across the region led to the introduction of volunteer shopping sighted guides serving eight major retail centres. This initiative, along with ‘GoOnRNIB’, our first digital inclusion programme, has helped many people to increase their independence and confidence.
Last year, our Eye Care Liaison Service delivered immediate support to several thousand people who had been diagnosed with sight loss. That support is essential to help overcome the immediate challenges and barriers faced by individuals who are losing their sight.
Our ‘Finding your Feet’ programmes have helped people face the practical and emotional challenges of sight loss. This two-day course focuses on confidence building and maintaining overall health and wellbeing. Over the last five years, these vital programmes have given hope to hundreds of people who are living with sight loss.
Reductions to public services and personal incomes continue to have a huge impact on the lives of many people with sight loss so it is more important than ever that we reach as many of them as possible.
Although the tough economic climate is having an impact on our resources, we are so proud that our hard work has led to many fantastic achievements this year. These are only possible thanks to our generous financial supporters, along with our dedicated staff and volunteers.
We know there is so much more to do, so we are tremendously excited to launch our new strategy for 2014/19 which cements our commitment to be there for even more people when they are losing their sight. When someone is losing their sight, we want them to receive the help and support they need to come to terms with this potentially devastating news and to face the future with confidence.
Together we’re making every day better for everyone affected by sight loss in Northern Ireland by: being there when people need us, supporting independent living, creating an inclusive society and preventing sight loss.”
Our work in numbers
· We identified £817,000 in unclaimed welfare benefits entitlements.
· Our employment service helped 27 people into work and supported another 51 people to retain their job while they were losing their sight.
· 218 blind and partially sighted people received digital technology training.
· Over 3600 people with sight loss were supported by an Eye Care Liaison Officer.
· 800 people with sight loss were supported in clubs and societies.
· We supported 744 families of blind and partially sighted children and young people.
· 244 blind and partially sighted children and young people aged 0 to 25 joined our children and youth programmes.
· We provided advice about products and technology to 2500 people with sight loss.
Figures are correct at March 2014.
About us
We’re the Royal National Institute of Blind People Northern Ireland and we’re here for everyone affected by sight loss. Whether you’re losing your sight or you’re blind or partially sighted, our practical and emotional support can help you face the future with confidence.
Our ambition is to make every day better for everyone affected by sight loss: by being there when you are losing your sight, supporting independent living, creating an inclusive society and preventing sight loss.
We’re a charity, proud to be led by a strong and active membership of blind and partially sighted people, who along with our trustees give direction to our work.
Being there
We will make sure we reach more people losing their sight.
Coming to terms with losing your sight is incredibly hard. We want everyone in this situation to have the best possible support, and for some this starts straight after diagnosis. Our newest priority is being there, which will focus on making sure we reach more people as early as possible when they are losing their sight.
Eye Care Liaison Service
RNIB Northern Ireland provides sight loss advice services at each of the hospital eye clinics in Northern Ireland. People often tell us that this vital intervention can be life-changing. We are there to help people address the emotional impact of sight loss on them and their family. We work closely with health and social care services to ensure patients have timely access to the support they need and provide access to a host of practical support through the RNIB group of charities and other community and voluntary services. Last year, our Eye Care Liaison Officers dealt with over 3600 people giving vital advice and support at the point of diagnosis.
New counselling service
RNIB Northern Ireland was awarded £500,000 as part of the Big Lottery Fund Connecting Older People programme for a three year project entitled “Looking Forward”. This is the first time dedicated face to face counselling has been available to people with sight loss in Northern Ireland.
Looking Forward provides practical and emotional support to blind or partially sighted people (aged 60 plus) at greatest risk of isolation or exclusion. The programme is free to access and offers a minimum of six face to face counselling sessions and ongoing peer support to help people come to terms with losing their vision.
This service is available throughout Northern Ireland with trained volunteer counsellors based in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Armagh, Fermanagh, Omagh and Derry/Londonderry. The Looking Forward project works in partnership with the following key organisations: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Western Health and Social Care Trust and Good Morning Northern Ireland Network.
Living with sight loss
Our local community workers supported over 800 people in clubs and societies across Northern Ireland. The peer support network that these groups provide is often a lifeline for people who are otherwise socially isolated.
Being able to cope with the financial impact of sight loss is a significant concern for families and individuals. During the last year, our local Welfare Rights Service was used by over 400 people with sight loss and secured over £817,000 in unclaimed entitlements.
Clare’s story
Clare (aged 27) experienced sudden sight loss due to diabetic retinopathy in 2011. Susan Caskey, one of our Eye Care Liaison Officers, was on hand to offer practical and emotional support, right from the very beginning of Clare’s sight loss journey.
Clare said: “I can’t even begin to imagine where my life would be had it not been for her work and moral support helping me through, undoubtedly the most terrifying and traumatic experience, to date, in my life.
Nearly four years on, I am now supporting the work of RNIB Northern Ireland. Having recently completed the Eye Care Liaison Officer training course myself, this has empowered me to undertake volunteer work with Susan at the Royal Victoria’s eye clinic. This all comes down to seeing Susan’s passion for making a difference to the lives of people with sight loss and it has motivated me and my family to help make a difference too.”
Supporting independent living
We’re committed to helping people with sight loss remain independent and lead as full and enjoyable lives as possible.
Keeping you informed
Our Helpline is a direct line to the support, advice and products you need from RNIB to remain independent. This year we responded to a record 500,000 customer enquiries covering everything from benefits, to eye health information, legal rights, reading services and product sales.
Insight Radio, RNIB’s award-winning radio station has gone from strength to strength. As well as Insight online and via Sky and Freesat, you can now also listen via Freeview channel 730. The service is now available to over 20 million homes across the UK.
Our Reading Services provided around 40,000 blind and partially sighted people with books in giant print, braille and our much-loved talking books.
Control of your money
We’re delighted that our influence in the financial sector is benefiting blind and partially sighted people. The number of talking cash machines (ATMs) continues to grow so that people with sight loss can manage their money independently.
Supporting people at work
Losing your sight doesn’t mean you can’t work. We support employers to understand how they can retain staff when they are losing their sight, or employ people living with sight loss. We also work with individuals to raise their skill and confidence levels to the point where they can gain or retain employment. In Northern Ireland this year, we helped 27 people into work, and supported another 51 people to retain their job while they were losing their sight.
Achieving a better education
In Northern Ireland today, there are 2,500 blind and partially sighted children and young people who require specialist education support. Half have additional disabilities as well as sight loss, and two thirds are educated in a mainstream setting. We work with education professionals to support blind and partially sighted children and young people, offering training courses for teaching staff, facilitating specialist professional networks and providing vital resources to improve teaching standards.
Load2Learn, a joint project with Dyslexia Action, provides free accessible curriculum resources to support learners who cannot use standard print materials. Load2Learn now has over 5,000 registered users from across the UK and 2,500 books available for download. We’re adding new resources all the time.
Shopping independently
We’ve enabled people with sight loss to shop more independently by working with industry and retailers to improve the accessibility of packaging and the services provided to blind and partially sighted shoppers.
In October 2013 a new sighted guide shopping service was officially launched at CastleCourt Shopping Centre, Belfast. This innovative project was developed through a partnership between RNIB Northern Ireland and Shopmobility.
The scheme allows blind or partially sighted shoppers to book time with a volunteer guide through Shopmobility schemes. We assisted in the recruitment of 28 volunteer guides and provided accredited Visual Awareness Training for retail centres across Belfast (Connswater, Kennedy Centre, Victoria Square and Castlecourt), Newry (Buttercrane), Cookstown, Carrickfergus and Derry/Londonderry (Foyleside).
VisionZone exhibition returns to Belfast
We were delighted to announce the return of VisionZone, a one day showcase of equipment, resources and services for people who are blind or partially sighted on 22 October 2013 at the Holiday Inn, Belfast.
The exhibition was a joint venture between Optelec UK and RNIB Northern Ireland, providing a unique opportunity for people living with sight loss to meet industry experts and experience displays and demonstrations of the very latest assistive technologies. Those who attended discovered how to use a computer using simple magnification software, or how they might read their favourite book by using the latest video magnifiers and text-to-speech readers.
This was a great opportunity for all the services or organisations that blind and partially sighted people want or need, to come together under one roof, to meet people, network and gather information.
Digital technology training
In October 2013 our Products and Technology team held the first of a series of digital technology taster sessions. These gave people with sight loss an introduction to using the iPad’s built-in voiceover and magnification.
By the end of November 2013, 45 blind and partially sighted people had taken advantage of the taster sessions. Everyone who attended these initial sessions felt that they were really valuable and the majority signed up for a formal training programme which started in January 2014.
These formal training sessions cover topics such as online shopping, how to access email on your phone or tablet, using Facebook and Twitter, and accessing music via the internet. This was a step toward filling a gap in provision that many service users felt existed in terms of IT training for personal use. The benefits of these programmes are seen in people’s ability to independently shop, conduct personal banking, make travel arrangements and stay in touch with friends and family.
Ryan’s story
Ryan, 25, uses Shopmobility’s Sighted Guide Shopping Service, developed in partnership with RNIB Northern Ireland.
Ryan said: “The guides are extremely helpful, doing all you ask of them, but also letting you have your independence as well. They will meet you at an agreed location, then take you round the shops of your choice and read product information for you.
The service aims to get you the same guide who gets to know your shopping preferences and patterns and I find this a big help to me. It has also made shopping more of a social experience for me and I hope this service continues as it has really improved my self confidence as I am able to go out shopping without family or friends being with me.”
Creating an inclusive society
We want the UK to be a better place to live for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Travel with confidence
Finding the confidence to travel when you lose your sight can be difficult. We want blind and partially sighted people to get around safely and independently. To achieve this, we supported blind and partially sighted people to challenge poor practice through our Campaigners Active Network and worked with transport providers to help make their services more accessible. During 2013 and 2014 audio visual messaging was piloted on the Belfast Metro Bus service.
New technology
Mobile phones and the internet can be vital tools to support people with sight problems to live independently. RNIB worked with manufacturers and service providers to improve the accessibility of devices and online services.