Partnership to Expand Age-Related Vision Loss Services

Health Advocates for Older People has teamed up with Lighthouse Guild -- the leading organization helping people who are blind or have experienced vision loss to lead independent lives -- have teamed up. Our new initiative, supported by Lavelle Fund for the Blind, will increase early detection, education, and concrete services for those with age-related vision loss.

Age-related vision loss affects one in three adults over the age of 60, yet it often goes unaddressed until it significantly impacts mobility, safety, and quality of life. This initiative is about making sure older New Yorkers have the information, the tools, and the support they need to stay safe and independent — ideally long before vision loss becomes a crisis.

The program will be implemented through a three-tiered approach: staff and instructor training at Health Advocates to build organizational capacity for recognizing and responding to vision decline; interactive community education workshops for older adults on eye health; and individualized assessments and follow-up sessions for older adults referred through the program, paired with in-home safety consultations to support independence.

Educational sessions are aimed at vision preservation and are appropriate for those with and without vision concerns. They include Sun Protection and Eye Health on May 6 and Aging and Vision Loss on July 9. In the fall, Lighthouse Guild will offer a seminar on Diabetes and vision. 

The collaboration brings together Health Advocates’ three decades of trusted community relationships with Lighthouse Guild’s nationally recognized expertise in helping people experiencing vision loss live independently, including the only specialized adult day health care program for people with vision loss in New York State. The intersection between aging and vision loss is significant, and there is a real need for more intersectional support programs that help older adults with vision loss remain independent and safe in their environments. To learn more about this programming, please contact lcolinklein@hafop.org.