Two months ago, Staffordshire Sight Loss Association, a fabulous charity based in Hanley, North Staffordshire, opened an incredible resources centre.
The hub is filled to the brim with amazing technology that can help support individuals with sight loss to maintain independence and gain confidence. I won’t lie, I was amazed at just how much technology and equipment is actually out there to support people with sight loss. Perhaps it was nativity or inexperience in the world of accessible resources, but I really had no idea that even half of these items existed until we set up the shop for the first time. Seeing the wealth of items displayed in front of me as I stood in the resource centre, I was overwhelmed at not only how much is actually available for people with sight loss, but also knowing that for many, these crucial resources are only available if you already know what is out there and where to find it.
That’s where Staffordshire Sight Loss Association comes in. Although they may be a small, local charity, they have big plans to help the community, and so far I’d say that they are doing an incredible job. The charity is centred around what services local people with sight loss want and need, and when their beneficiaries expressed an interest in having a physical space where they could come and try equipment, and to also find out what other items might exist to help them maintain independence in various aspects of their daily lives, the Resource Centre and Community Hub was soon born. This ‘what the people want, we deliver’ approach is nothing new to the charity; it makes up their very foundations and drives each and every one of their services. The charity itself was set up after the founder, Suzanne Roberts, asked the local community whether a local charity for people with sight loss was needed. The local community were even the ones to decide on the charity name. If that isn’t the very definition of community-led, I don’t know what is!
Since it was formed in 2017, Staffordshire Sight Loss Association has been offering welfare and benefits advice, supporting independent living, creating social groups, providing peer support and telephone befriending, hosting awareness days, and now, delivering the much-needed resources centre. I know that this centre is just the start of more great services to come from the charity this year.
Like many charities, their plans to open the hub were delayed due to the pandemic, but as restrictions have eased and infection rates reduced, Staffordshire Sight Loss Association have now been able to safely open the centre for appointments. Naturally, not only has this delay been a challenge for Staffordshire Sight Loss Association, but also for people across the county (and nationally) with sight loss; it should be appreciated that although a person may have an essential need, it is very difficult to know from an internet search or via a phone call just how useful an adapted item might be to that person without being able to try it first.
Now though, locals across Staffordshire are invited to try out the equipment, which ranges from magnifiers (handheld, stand, video - to name a few!) to talking kitchen equipment, accessible games, stationary and equipment for various hobbies, a range of lighting equipment, and so, so, much more. Honestly, that brief list is not even close to describing the volume of items the charity has and can demonstrate… You really need to see it to believe it, so I’ve put in some pictures below to make my point 😂
Scroll through the below, so that I can make my point...
(Hover over the image for the picture description.)
Now, moving forwards, the charity has announced plans to soon begin hosting a pop-up version of the resource centre in the town hall of nearby Biddulph. It is hoped that a pop-up centre may help bring the resources to those who otherwise find it challenging to get into Hanley, where the charity and Resource Centre is based.
I am super proud of Staffordshire Sight Loss Association, their community-driven focus, and all they are achieving as a result. I am also very proud to work and volunteer for such an amazing organisation. Although some of you reading this may not be local to North Staffordshire or the Moorlands (the areas that Staffordshire Sight Loss Association serves), it is still important to know, because you may know someone in these areas with a sight loss condition that could benefit from the charity’s support. It is also useful to know that there are local charities out there who can support you and who want to do their best for you. That, and of course it’s always positive to read that there are so many life-changing, accessible items out there that can support and maintain independence in all aspects of life.
Please take a look at Staffordshire Sight Loss Association’s website and social pages, and support them if you can by donating, following and sharing the work they do. You never know who you might help if you do!
P.S… In all the pictures of me, I was either chatting away to people or seemed to be positioned conveniently close to the cakes 🤦🏼♀️
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