Leading figures in Welsh civic society have come together to call for action to reduce the number of blind and partially sighted people living in poverty.
Ceri Jackson, the newly appointed Director of RNIB Cymru, Sarah Rochira, the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Fran Targett, Director of Citizen's Advice Cymru and Victoria Winckler, the Director of social justice think-tank the Bevan Foundation, have joined forces to urge greater assistance for the thousands of people with sight loss living in economic hardship.
A new report produced by the Bevan Foundation for RNIB Cymru, and released today, has found that there are at least 33,000 people in Wales with a visual impairment who are living in poverty.
About the report
Victoria Winckler explained: "It is extremely difficult for disabled people, and especially visually impaired people, to find a job and visually impaired people also face higher living costs than non-disabled people. For them, and for people over retirement age, benefits are a lifeline. Unfortunately, benefits rates are generally low and on top of this many visually impaired people are not aware of their entitlement to claim. It's made harder because so many services assume people have good sight."
RNIB Cymru's response
Ceri Jackson was appointed as the new Director of RNIB Cymru earlier this month, and will be seeking a meeting with the Welsh Government to discuss taking forward the report's recommendations. She said: "Working with Welsh Government and other partners to address the shocking numbers of people with sight loss living in poverty will be a top priority for me as I start my new role as Director of RNIB Cymru. We regularly come into contact with blind and partially sighted people living in abject poverty: people living without heating because they cannot afford to pay the bills, people not leaving their homes because they cannot afford transport, people whose homes are becoming unsafe to live in because they cannot afford basic repairs. As a society, we cannot turn our backs on those most in need of our help.
"Having the support of such influential organisations as Citizen's Advice Cymru and the Bevan Foundation, as well as the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, demonstrates a shared determination to end the unacceptable financial hardship experienced by too many blind and partially sighted people in Wales."
Support from other partners
Sarah Rochira, Older People's Commissioner for Wales , is backing Ceri's call for action: "The strong link between sight loss and poverty highlighted in the report is particularly concerning for me as Older People's Commissioner, as one in five people aged 75 or over, and half of people aged 90 or over, are living with sight loss. Poverty often leads to older people becoming isolated and finding themselves in vulnerable situations, which quite simply has a devastating impact on their health, wellbeing and independence.
"I welcome the recommendations in the report and look forward to working with RNIB Cymru and other partners to ensure that people can access the support and information they might need to protect them from poverty, that 'little bit of help' that older people tell me can make such a positive difference to their lives."
The report's recommendations have also been endorsed by Fran Targett, Director of Citizen's Advice Cymru: "At Citizen's Advice Cymru, we have been expressing our concerns for some time about the impact of the Westminster Government's proposed welfare reforms and today's report provides further evidence to support those concerns. Barriers to employment, and the additional costs that arise from sight loss, make welfare benefits a vital component of many people's incomes, and any reduction in that income will only result in greater financial hardship for ever increasing numbers of people. I would urge the Welsh Government to do all it can to mitigate the effect of welfare benefit cuts on the most vulnerable in our society."
Download the report