Welfare rights
Mr C lives alone and is registered blind. He was receiving his retirement pension and had a small amount of savings. Mr C now receives an additional £105.29 per week in benefits. Mr C said he would now be able to afford a taxi to take him to the eye clinic without having to bother his son-in-law. He couldn't believe that he was entitled to this much extra benefit.
Mrs H is a 69 year old lady who lives alone and was managing on £120 a week, made up of retirement pension and a small amount of pension credit. She lives in a council flat. As she still manages to get about she didn't think she would be entitled to any disability benefits. Mrs H was awarded Attendance Allowance of £41.65 a week and because she lives alone she was awarded a further £46.75 a week on her pension credit. Her income went up by £88.40 a week, a huge increase which made a big difference to her quality of life.
Prevention
RNIB Cymru has produced a report called Preventing Sight Loss in Older People, with support from the Pfizer Foundation,
The report presents findings and recommendations based on consultations in the Rhondda and Merthyr with people aged 60 and over, to identify the barriers to having a regular sight test. Nearly half of people aged 60 and over in these areas did not have a sight test in 2009/2010.
The findings highlight that cost was perceived as a significant barrier, particularly in relation to purchasing glasses. Download the report from our publications page.
Volunteering
Babs Protheroe is an invaluable volunteer and spokesperson for the RNIB Cymru Group, and she has been recognised for her great work by winning Wales Volunteer of the Year 2011.
After recognising a desperate need for support, Barbara, aged 60, set up a Sensory Impairment Drop-in Scheme (SIDS) in Rhydfelin, which has been running for five years and has more than 20 members.
One of her many roles with the RNIB is organising a Talk and Support conference across the UK, and she also helps shape policy on provision for the blind and visually-impaired. Babs also supports CVV in developing new groups and services across Rhondda Cynon Taf.
"I don't do what I do for glory or thanks - I just do what needs to be done. For me, volunteering means I can reach people who are perhaps isolated or feeling down and I can make a difference to their lives. As I've lived with sight loss all my life, I know what people are going through; and if I can make a difference to just a handful of people, it means that there are fewer blind or partially sighted people feeling they're on their own."
Babs also won an Exceptional Woman award from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's Equality, Diversity and Social Justice team.
Visibly Better
RCT Homes sheltered scheme Bryn Ivor is the first in the UK to have gained the RNIB 'Visibly Better' platinum award. Visibly Better is an accreditation scheme that supports social housing providers to meet the needs of their older tenants through promoting independence, equality and safety.
RCT Homes have showed the way in raising standards for their tenants at Bryn Ivor through training staff to understand and help address:
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the issues of sight loss
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the importance of accessible information
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the need to develop enabling environments
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the promotion of eye health
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how to empower blind and partially sighted tenants.
Sarah Rochira, Director of RNIB Cymru stated "It is fantastic that the Valleys are leading the way for the whole of the UK. To achieve Platinum is no easy task, it's a commitment to supporting tenants and this runs throughout the organisation."
World's first Low Vision Toolkit
The Low Vision Toolkit was developed by RNIB Cymru and was piloted with young people and children and Wales. It is designed to teach children with low vision about their sight and what they can do to make the most of it.
The bilingual teaching resourse, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, is attracting worldwide attention. It consists of seven modules which can be used on their own, or together to form a complete training programme.
The teaching pack is given free to all specialist teachers working with partially sighted children across Wales. Training sessions are held to ensure the pack is used to its full potential to help children use their sight effectively.
The Low Vision Toolkit is available to buy in both English and Welsh from RNIB's online shop.