AWARE's Mission

Associates for World Action in Rehabilitation and Education (AWARE) is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit public charity, founded in 1990. Our mission is to provide information, resources, and education that can increase independence and enhance quality of life for individuals with vision loss.

AWARE is committed to increasing the visibility of organizations and resources that address the unmet needs of people who are blind or have low vision.

The Challenge Today

An estimated 314 million people in the world today are blind or have low vision (World Health Organization, 2009). In the United States alone, the American Foundation for the Blind estimates that approximately 21 million people of all ages have "difficulty seeing," even with glasses and contact lenses.

Among U.S. adults, the National Eye Institute estimates that 4.5 to 5.5 million people aged 40 and older are blind, have low vision, or experience age-related vision loss.

Although estimates of adult blindness and vision impairment can vary, one factor remains consistent: The majority of these individuals do not have regular access to vision rehabilitation services.

Adults who are blind or have low vision may be unaware that such services exist, may be rural-based and not in easy reach of services, or may not reach out for vision rehabilitation services for a variety of reasons: family responsibilities, poor health, limited mobility, lack of transportation, or reluctance to leave home. This growing "hidden majority" attempts to manage on their own, as best they can.

What Does AWARE Do?

AWARE’s programs include:

Self-Help Online Resource Center

The VisionAWARE Online Resource Center provides free, practical, hands-on information to increase independence and enhance quality of life for adults with vision loss, along with families, friends, and related professionals.

AWARE’s VisionAWARE Online Resource Center provides:

• Information on eye diseases and disorders
• Techniques, adaptations, and hints for a wide range of daily living activities, including personal self-care, home management, home modification, reading and writing, indoor and outdoor mobility, recreational activities, computer technology, and employment
• Directories of helpful services, products, and resources
• Personalized guidance on issues related to vision loss
• A monthly e-mail newsletter that provides updates about medical advances, “how-to” techniques, and new information on our web site and online resource center.

Online Education

The AWARE Online Education Center provides courses on topics related to vision loss and vision rehabilitation for health care and social service professionals, including social workers, occupational therapists, community advocates, recreational specialists, and personnel in independent living centers, senior centers, long-term care, assisted living communities, veterans’ centers, and hospitals.

AWARE’s Online Education Center currently includes the following courses:

• The Eye and Vision
• Low Vision and Optical Devices
• Vision Rehabilitation Services and Coping with Vision Loss
• How to Cope with Daily Living Tasks

Publications

AWARE Self-Help Publications provide techniques, adaptations, illustrations, and step-by-step instructions to increase independence and personal safety and provide fulfilling recreational opportunities for adults with vision loss, along with families, friends, and related professionals.

AWARE Publications currently include the following books and downloadable resources:

• NEW INDEPENDENCE! Craft Adaptations for Adults With Vision Impairments (Revised) by Stephanie Stephens Van, M.A., CLVT
• Safety in the Home Downloadable Resources by Lisa-Anne Mowerson, M.A., CVRT, TVI

AWARE's Accomplishments

AWARE's accomplishments also include:

• Establishing the first post-graduate training program in vision rehabilitation therapy (VRT) and orientation and mobility (O&M) in Central and Eastern Europe. The program is currently sustained by the Academy of Special Education in Warsaw, Poland.
• Publishing the first of its kind train-the-trainer manual: New Independence! For Older Persons with Vision Loss in Long-Term Care Facilities – for use by personnel working with older persons in long-term care.
• Adapting New Independence! for the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom to enhance British legislation to better meet the needs of older adults with vision loss.
• Educating hundreds of national and international social service and health care workers, via our train-the-trainer workshops and publications, on issues surrounding vision loss and rehabilitation.

Through these pioneering efforts, AWARE has become a well-recognized, highly respected, and reputable source of vision rehabilitation information that supports the safety, independent living, and quality of life needs of adults with vision loss.

The AWARE Team

Meet the AWARE Team – the experienced vision rehabilitation professionals who bring you our step-by-step adaptive techniques, independent living resources, online education, and publications. Many of us are blind or have low vision ourselves. Our goal is to provide information and resources that can help adults and their families cope with vision changes, adapt everyday tasks, keep their jobs, enjoy their hobbies, and retain their independence.

Who Supports AWARE?

All of our funding comes from generous individuals and Foundation grants, including:

• Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation
• Open Society Institute and Soros Foundation Network
• National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
• The Glickenhaus Foundation
• Special People in Need
• The Gibney Family Foundation
• Allene Reuss Memorial Trust
• Irving & Sara Selis Foundation
• Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund
• State government funding (Connecticut and New Jersey)

Contact AWARE

Office address:

P.O. Box 96
Mohegan Lake, NY 10547
914-528-5120

E-mail:

Anne Yeadon, Executive Director: Anne.Yeadon@visionaware.org
Maureen Duffy, Editorial Director: Maureen.Duffy@visionaware.org
General information: info@visionaware.org

Donate

Your donation can help us continue to promote self-help vision rehabilitation hints, provide step-by-step adaptive techniques, and disseminate information on services and independent living resources to adults with vision loss, their families and friends, caregivers, and related professionals.

Link to VisionAWARE

Help spread the word about VisionAWARE and help people with vision loss continue to lead independent lives. Insert the following code in your web site:

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="3px" cellpadding="3px" summary="Go to VisionAWARE.org">
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.visionaware.org" target="_blank" title="VisionAWARE Self-Help for Vision Loss"><img src="files/awarelogo-sm.jpg" alt="visionaware.org - self-help for vision loss" width="74" height="72" /></a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.visionaware.org" target="_blank" title="VisionAWARE Self Help for Vision Loss">VisionAWARE</a>, a program of AWARE, is a self-help resource center with a wealth of information designed to enhance quality of life and independence for people who are blind or have low vision.</td>
</tr>
</table>

This will appear as

VisionAWARE, a program of AWARE, is a self-help resource center with a wealth of information to promote independence and enhance quality of life for people who are blind or have low vision.

RSS Feed

Add our RSS feed of the Are You Aware? newsletter to your RSS news reader or web site by using this link:

http://www.visionaware.org/view/are_you_aware_rss

VisionAWARE is made possible through the generous support of
Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation.