Low Vision Services
545 Meridian Avenue, Suite G
San Jose, CA 95126
408-947-2020
408-947-2077 (Fax)
www.advancevisioncenter.com  

200 Jose Figueres Avenue, #350
San Jose, CA 95116
408-923-8138
408-923-8214 (Fax)
http://drluong.com
E-mail: drluong@ourasc.com

c/o Bruce Hooper
7410 Quail Run Drive
San Antonio, TX 78209
210-822-6366
www.americanblindgolf.com
E-mail: bhooper@grandecom.net

The American Blind Golf Association was formed to promote golf, whether for competition or fun.

www.airsla.org
E-mail: info@airslaa.org

The Audio Internet Reading Service helps people who are blind, sight-impaired, reading-impaired, low-vision, or have diseases/disorders that make reading difficult or impossible. Their mission is to provide podcasts (audio recordings) of news, information, and entertainment that is otherwise inaccessible.

Pier 40, The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-281-0212
www.baads.org
E-mail: baadsmembership@gmail.com

The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) seeks to make all aspects of sailing in the San Francisco Bay Area accessible. This includes full participation in teaching sailing, cruising, racing, and developing engineering designs for adaptive equipment to benefit people with diverse abilities.

19500 Graystone Lane
San Jose, CA 95120
800-985-0535 (Toll free)
408-927-7943
408-351-8300 (Fax)
www.bierley.com
E-mail: USinfo@bierley.com

Bierley designs and manufactures a wide range of hand-held electronic magnifiers, using video and camera technology and working with ergonomists and design engineers. Bierley began in the United Kingdom in 2004 and now has offices on three continents.

225 Laurel Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
800-404-3505 (Toll free in Monterey County only)
831-649-3505
831-649-4057 (Fax)
www.blindandlowvision.org
E-mail: vision@blindandlowvision.org

The mission of the Blind and Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County is to encourage and inspire people who are blind or visually impaired to transcend the loss of sight as independent, contributing members of society.

Programs and services include:

• Orientation and Mobility Instruction
• Braille Instruction
• Daily Living Program
• Recreational Program
• Support Groups
• The Marjorie R. McNeely Low Vision Clinic

13337 South Street, #277
Cerritos, CA 90703
562-282-0123
www.blindstart.org
E-mail: blindstartofamerica@yahoo.com

The mission of Blind Start of America is to help blind and visually impaired people learn and develop job skills to lead independent lives through education, training, counseling, communication, and technology. A primary objective is to provide job skills training and job placement that will allow disabled persons to purchase or rent a home.

3696 Beatty Drive, Suite A
Riverside, CA 92506
951-341-9244
951-341-6335 (Fax)
www.blindnesssupport.com
E-mail: info@blindnesssupport.com

Blindness Support Services, Inc. is a nonprofit organization serving the needs of blind and vision impaired persons and their families within the Inland Empire and the surrounding area.

Programs and services offered through Blindness Support Systems include: Independent Living Skills Instruction, Orientation and Mobility Instruction, Travel Training, Children's Programs, Special Parenting Instruction, Specialized Training for Older Adults, Employment Preparation/Job Development/Placement, Computer/Assistive Technology Training, Peer Support/Adjustment Counseling, and Community Education/Presentations.

741 North Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-663-1111
www.brailleinstitute.org
E-mail: la@brailleinstitute.org
Office locations: Contact Braille Institute

The Braille Institute offers services to help people with limited or no vision lead independent and enriched lives. All programs are free of charge and include the following services:

• An in-home Child Development Program for parents of blind infants and toddlers
• Youth and Career Services
• Counseling and Support Services
• Adaptation to Sight Loss classes
• Low Vision consultations

For adults who can't attend a regional center, many classes are offered in community locations throughout Southern California. Mobile Solutions vehicles travel throughout Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties. Vistas, the retail store, has many practical, adaptive items for sale.

c/o Braille Institute of America
741 North Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029-3594
323-666-2211
www.ctebvi.org
E-mail: administrator@ctebvi.org

The CA Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI) membership is composed of:

• Transcribers, both volunteer and professional
• Educators, including resource teachers and itinerant teachers
• Orientation & Mobility Specialists
• Rehabilitation counselors and counselor-teachers
• Administrators, both school and agency
• Parents of visually impaired children
• Librarians
• Paraprofessionals
• Students, both those learning to work with persons who are visually impaired and those who are visually impaired themselves
• Many other advocates for the special needs of individuals living with blindness and visual impairment

Low Vision Department
St. Agnes Medical Center
1360 East Herndon Avenue
Fresno, CA 93720
559-449-5000
St. Agnes Medical Center Low Vision Department web site

Department of Rehabilitation
P.O. Box 944222
Sacramento, CA 94299
721 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-558-5815 (Voice)
916-558-5807 (TTY)
www.dor.ca.gov

Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
www.dor.ca.gov/ssd/blindser.htm
E-mail: blindinfo@dor.ca.gov or ocbinfo@dor.ca.gov

Vocational Rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired consumers include:

• Adjustment to blindness
• Preparation for work
• Assistive technology
• Reader services
• Occupational training
• Job placement
• On-the-job followup

Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program
Office of Services to the Blind
744 P Street, MS 8-16-94
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-657-2628
916-651-6248 (TTY)
Web site
E-mail: ADSAUser@dss.ca.gov

Center on Disabilities
Assistive Technology Training Program
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330
818-677-2578
818-677-4929 (Fax)
www.csun.edu/codtraining
E-mail: codtraining@csun.edu

The Center on Disabilities sponsors national and international assistive technology training programs to expand the knowledge base of professionals, and introduce newcomers to the disability field.

Programs aid participants in understanding the full impact of all forms of assistive technology and their potential areas of application. With over 2,500 graduates to date, the ATACP is the largest Assistive Technology certificate program and offers 100 hours of a wide range of practical Assistive Technology applications and information.

171 West Sierra Madre Boulevard
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
626-355-1447
www.climbwac.com
E-mail: wac@climbwac.com

The mission of CLIMB is to design and deliver vocational, residential and community integration services to developmentally disabled individuals that will result in their fullest participation in all aspects of community living and the work force.

Program entrance criteria:

• Visually impaired, ambulatory, developmentally disabled adults, 18-64 years of age
• Possesses minimum toileting and personal hygiene skills
• Medical conditions determined appropriate for placement by an Interdisciplinary Team
• Manageable and trainable maladaptive behaviors as determined to be appropriate for respective placement levels by an Interdisciplinary Team
• Possesses potential for travel training as determined by evaluation of the CLIMB Mobility Specialist
• Demonstrates the minimum pre-vocational, social/interpersonal and communication skills necessary for vocational or work related training
• Demonstrates willingness to participate in residential and workshop related activities

1124 Baker Street
Bakersfield, CA 93305
661-322-5234
661-322-7754 (Fax)
www.cbvi.org
E-mail: info@cbvi.org

The Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI) was founded in 1950 as a volunteer-run organization for braille education and recreational activities. Today, CBVI's mission is to provide rehabilitation programs for greater independence to adults who are blind or visually impaired.

Programs and services include:

• Independent living skills
• Computer technology training
• Low vision evaluation and aids
• Orientation and Mobility
• Braille instruction
• Recreational programs and peer group support
• Resource referrals, advocacy and community education

12301 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-458-3501
310-458-8179 (Fax)
www.low-vision.org
E-mail: info@low-vision.org

Center for the Partially Sighted Valley Office
18425 Burbank Boulevard, Suite 706
Tarzana, CA 91356
818-705-5954
www.low-vision.org
E-mail: info@low-vision.org

The Center for the Partially Sighted provides comprehensive low vision care for children and adults with impaired sight by a team of professionals who specialize in low vision. For over 30 years, our optometrists, therapists, and rehabilitation instructors have worked together to ensure that our clients have the tools and the training needed to live independently. Services are also provided in Torrance and in San Luis Obispo.

The Center is a participating provider of Medical and Medi-Care and the California Department of Rehabilitation. Many services, such as support groups, independent living services, and orientation and mobility, are free to our clients.

Services include:

• Functional vision evaluation by a low vision optometrist
• Design and prescription of special glasses or technology
• Individual counseling to address emotional adjustments to vision loss
• Technology demonstrations
• Support groups, including special groups for people with diabetes-related vision loss and for working-age adults
• Independent Living Skills and Orientation and Mobility training taught in your home and neighborhood
• Special Children's Program and Family Resource Specialists
• Low Vision Store carries magnifiers and large print and adaptive devices

130 West Flora Street
Stockton, CA 95202
209-466-3836
209-466-5692 (Fax)
www.communitycenterfortheblind.org
E-mail: info@communitycenterfortheblind.org

CCBVI is the only blind center between Sacramento and Fresno. Services are provided to residents of San Joaquin County and the surrounding area at no charge.

Services include: 

• Information and Referral
• Support Group/Introduction to Services
• Braille Instruction
• Daily Living Skills
• Adaptive Computer Training
• Orientation and Mobility
• Aids and Appliances Store
• Leisure Skills Program, including weaving classes, ceramics, arts and crafts
• White Cane Red Hatters
• Beep Baseball Program

Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) is an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Local CCLVI affiliates are based in California, Delaware, New York, and Washington, DC. For more information, and to locate a low vision support group, contact the main office in Arlington, VA:

American Council of the Blind
2200 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 650
Arlington, VA 22201
800-424-8666 (Toll free)
202-467-5081
202-467-5085 (Fax)

6222 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 260
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310-623-4466
310-623-1837 (Fax)
www.discoveryeye.org  
E-mail: ContactUs@DiscoveryEye.org

The Discovery Eye Foundation supports research, education and advocacy
related to sight-threatening eye diseases and their treatments,
improving the quality of life for patients and their families.

The Foundation supports research and helps patients throughout the world by providing accurate information, up-to-date education, a newsletter, and responsive personal attention.

4539 Occidental Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707-523-3222
707-636-2768 (Fax)
www.earlebaum.org
E-mail: ebc@earlebaum.org

The Earle Baum Center of the Blind (EBC) is a nonprofit regional community center, serving the blind and visually impaired from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. The Center opened on October 1, 1999 and provides instruction in the following areas:

• Daily Living Skills
• Orientation & Mobility
• Adaptive Technology
• Sports and recreation programs and a beep baseball and recreational field.

The EBC is a certified vendor of the State Department of Rehabilitation and receives referrals for training.

Local support groups and other organizations that serve the blind meet at the facility. They include the California Council of the Blind, Blind Veterans Association, Veterans Administration VIST Program, Santa Rosa/Sebastopol Macular Degeneration Support Group, Thursday Thinkers Support Group, and the Blind Babies Foundation.

2928 Adeline Street
Berkeley, CA 94703
510-843-6935
510-843-6006 (Fax)
www.eastbaycenterfortheblind.org
E-mail: ebcb@pacbell.net

Owned and operated by the blind for more than sixty-five years, the Center was founded in 1939 when three blind people decided to establish a place for blind people to meet, share common problems, develop living skills, and have fun.

As a Public Benefits organization, the Center is open to both members and non-members, all of whom are welcome to participate in classes and social events. The East Bay Center for the Blind provides educational programs and classes, referral to community services and resources, and a limited range of supplies and equipment for blind and visually impaired people.

Social events include games such as cards and bingo, audio-described movies, an annual picnic, holiday parties and talent shows, bake sales, and other fund raising events.

Enhanced Vision Headquarters
5882 Machine Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
888-811-3161 (Toll free)
714-374-1829
714-374-1821 (Fax)
E-mail: evinfo@enhancedvision.com

Dedicated to helping individuals maintain their independence, Enhanced Vision has developed assistive technology to create a full line of easy-to-use low vision tools at affordable prices. The web site offers an online product selector to help you choose the most appropriate assistive device for your needs.

1104 El Prado
San Clemente, CA 92672-4637
949-498-4540
949-498-6128 (Fax)
www.hsascuba.com
E-mail: hsa@hsascuba.com

HSA International promotes recreational diving for people with disabilities worldwide. HSA operates as an independent diver training and certifying agency. Its diver education programs and Instructor Training Course (ITC) are internationally recognized.

HSA has a searchable database to help Find a Member.

2430 Road 20, #B112
San Pablo, CA 94806-5006
510-234-4984
510-234-4986 (Fax)
www.hcblind.org
E-mail: patty@hcblind.org (Executive Director)

The Hatlen Center teaches people who are blind or visually impaired to live independently by actually living independently. Since 1972, the Center's learn-by-doing apartment setting has helped to empower generations of visually impaired people to take charge of their own lives. 

The Hatlen Center is located in a 76-unit apartment complex in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Center rents office/classroom space from the management, and the students live in nine, two-bedroom apartments. Each student has his/her own bedroom, and shares the dining room, kitchen, living room, and bathroom with a roommate.

Instructional areas include:

• Living Skills
• Orientation and Mobility
• Financial Management
• Adaptive Technology
• Pre-Vocational Skills
• Recreation

Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults
National Office Headquarters:
141 Middle Neck Road
Sands Point, NY 11050-1218
Switchboard hours: 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
516-944-8900 (Voice)
516-944-8908 (VP)
516-944-8637 (TTY)
516-944-7302 (Fax)
E-mail: hkncinfo@hknc.org

Regional Representative contact information: www.hknc.org/FieldServicesREGREPADD.htm

The Center provides services to youth and adults who are deaf-blind according to the definition of deaf-blindness in the Helen Keller Act. The national center in New York and regional offices that serve each state provide advocacy, support groups, information, and services to people who have both a vision and a hearing loss.

The mission of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (HKNC) is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice. Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults is a national rehabilitation program serving youth and adults who are deaf-blind.

20734-C Devonshire Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
888-386-3442 (Toll free)
818-341-8217
www.helpinghands4theblind.com
E-mail: boacosta@pacbell.net

Helping Hands for the Blind is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote social, economic, and educational opportunities for people who are blind.

Helping Hands for the Blind is an organization of blind people who want to help other blind people. It is a problem solving organization and a guide that blind people can turn to in times of need.

The primary goals of Helping Hands for the Blind are to provide:

• Timely assistance to blind persons in need of help
• Legal assistance to the limits of our funds
• Financial grants to blind students
• Travel assistance for blind persons
• Special programs specifically designed for the blind
• Special requests based on individual evaluation of need

90 Bridge Street, Suite 100
Westbrook, ME 04092
207-857-9001
207-857-9199 (Fax)
www.itnamerica.org
Send E-mail to ITNAmerica

ITNAmerica is a national non-profit organization that provides transportation to seniors and adults with visual impairments. ITNAmerica provides rides with door-through-door, arm-through-arm service and allows older people to trade their own cars to pay for rides and enables volunteer drivers to store transportation credits for their own future transportation needs.

ITNAmerica's affiliate communities include Charleston, SC; Chicago, IL; Portland, ME; Orlando, Sarasota, FL; Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey CA; Lexington, KY; Enfield, Middlesex, Middletown, and Fairfield County, CT; the Quad Cities of IA; Cincinnati, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Racine, WI; St. Charles, Kansas City MO; Westchester County, NY; Boston, Framingham MA

100 Stein Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7000
310-825-5000
www.jsei.org

The Jules Stein Eye Institute offers a full range of comprehensive services and programs for the care of patients with eye disorders, research in the vision sciences, education in the field of ophthalmology, and outreach to the community.

5300 Angeles Vista Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90043
800-352-2290 (Toll free)
323-295-4555
323-296-0424 (Fax)
www.juniorblind.org
E-mail: info@juniorblind.org

Founded in 1953, Junior Blind of America's mission is helping children and adults who are blind, visually impaired, or multi-disabled achieve independence.

Based in Los Angeles, Junior Blind offer specialized services for thousands of infants, children, teens, and adults from throughout California and across the country. Through programs that offer early intervention therapy, education, recreation, and rehabilitation, children and adults learn essential skills to help them maximize their potential and achieve their goals.

13011 Doty Avenue
Hawthorne, CA 90250
866-98-BOOKS
www.kvisionbooks.com
E-mail: sales@kvisionbooks.com

An online source for books about Islam and Muslims. Audio and digital versions of the Koran and related materials are available.

214 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-431-1481
415-863-7568 (Fax)
415-431-4572 (TTY)
www.lighthouse-sf.org
Find additional agency locations in San Rafael, Eureka, Napa, and Oakland, California

The LightHouse is the largest agency providing direct service, advocacy, and information to the blind and visually impaired community of Northern California. The goal of the LightHouse is to help individuals find solutions that make living independently with vision loss a reality.

Services provided include:

• Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind & Visually Impaired
• Orientation and mobility training
• Independent living skills and home safety assesments
• Magnification evaluations and training
• Assistive technology and braille instruction
• Adjustment counseling
• Information and outreach services
• Referrals to LightHouse's Vision Loss Resource Center
• The LightHouse Store in San Francisco

2115 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612
510-450-1580
510-654-3603 (Fax)
www.lbcenter.org
E-mail: info@lbcenter.org

The Lions Center for the Blind is a rehabilitation facility serving Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano counties. It offers a range of accredited and non-accredited education and training programs for the benefit of people who are blind or who have low vision; and people who live with, support, and/or work with people who are blind or who have low vision.

Programs and services include:

• Orientation and Mobility
• Living Skills
• Computer Training
• Employment Services Program
• Braille Instruction
• Life Enrichment

Richard J. Shuldiner, OD, FAAO
888-610-2020 (Toll free)
951-898-2021(Fax)
www.lowvisioncare.com
E-mail: Doctor@LowVisionCare.com

Has offices in Glendale, Long Beach, Mission Viejo, La Jolla, Palm Springs, and Corona.

P.O. Box 5000
Yucaipa, CA 92399
909-795-8977
909-795-8970 (Fax)
www.lbwinc.org
E-mail: lbw@lbwinc.org

Provides Christian books, pamphlets, and tracts in braille in 30 languages.

Sailing Program for the Blind
Danette Davis, Director, Program for the Blind
510-847-6203
www.marinsailingschool.com/blind-sailing.html
E-mail: DDavis@MarinSailingSchool.com

The Marin Sailing School offers private sailing lessons for individuals and small groups on San Francisco Bay, departing from Sausalito, California.

The Marin Sailing School Program for the Blind provides blind or visually impaired persons the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of sailing and the basic principles of seamanship. Students learn to sail through the use of creative and adaptive methods in a hands-on, mainstream teaching environment. The objective is the same as for sighted sailors: to harness the wind and to experience all the challenges and rewards of sailing.

Southern California College of Optometry
www.scco.edu/ecc/lowvision/lvhome.html

The goal of the Low Vision Services of the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) is to enable people with low vision to improve their ability to use their remaining vision so they can be independent and better able to meet the demands of everyday living.

Low Vision Services are available at two clinical facilities owned and operated by SCCO:

Low Vision Service - Eye Care Center
2575 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Fullerton, CA 92831-1699
714-449-7415

Low Vision Service - Optometric Center of Los Angeles
3916 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90037
818-308-628 (Toll free)
323-234-9137

2361 Bear Rock Glen
Escondido, CA 92026
888-642-0842 (Toll free)
866-958-8777 (Fax)
www.mattinglylowvision.com
E-mail: bill@mattinglylowvision.com

Mattingly Low Vision provides wholesale distribution of low vision optical devices and products to professionals in the low vision rehabilitation community, including eye care professionals, agencies, occupational therapists, teachers, and other related professionals.

University of California Berkeley School of Optometry
200 Minor Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-2020
510-642-2020
www.caleyecare.org

The clinic provides comprehensive care for patients whose vision cannot be corrected to normal standards with ordinary spectacle lenses. A team of optometrists and rehabilitation specialists attends to each patient, providing lens systems and magnifiers as well as counseling on how to live with reduced vision.

The Low Vision Clinic has been designated by the state of California as a primary resource site for Low Vision Assistive Devices for Northern California.

Scripps Memorial Hospital
9888 Genesee Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037
858-626-4123
Partial Vision Center web site

The Partial Vision Center at Mericos Eye Institute helps people with diminished vision lead more independent lives. Complimentary evaluations are provided to people with partial vision through the generosity of Scripps Mericos donors.

Aids and devices to help partially sighted individuals accomplish the tasks of daily living include:

• Reading aids
• Lighting aids
• Talking devices
• Kitchen utensils
• Sewing aids
• Large print
• Protective sun shields

6222 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 260
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310-623-4466
310-623-1837 (Fax)
www.nkcf.org
E-mail: info@nkcf.org

The National Keratoconus Foundation (NKCF) is an outreach program of the Discovery Eye Foundation. The mission of NKCF is to advance the awareness and treatment of keratoconus through education and information, research, and support. NKCF serves individuals diagnosed with keratoconus and their families.

169 Hartnell Avenue #100
Redding, CA 96002
530-243-2842
No web site at present

Offers in-home assessments, environmental modification, and mobility training.

13333 Thunderhead Street
San Diego, CA 92129-2329
866-OPUSTEC or 866-678-7832 (Toll free)
858-538-9401
858-538-9401 (Fax)
www.opustec.com
E-mail: opus@opustec.com

Opus Technologies develops and sells software, print, and braille materials for learning and using braille, including braille music, for blind musicians and students, braille transcribers, parents, teachers and educators, and schools and libraries.

Prevent Blindness Northern California is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, committed to "preventing blindness and preserving sight for all people of Northern California."

Find California Services

The site provides an online database of resources for services and organizations relevant to people who are blind or have low vision and live in Northern California.

Low Vision Services
Isabell Choi, O.D.
428 South Brea Boulevard
Brea, CA 92821
714-529-2470
866-801-4739 (Fax)
www.kirschen.net
E-mail: patients@kirschen.net

P.O. Box 1205
Blue Lake, CA 95525
877-333-8848 (Toll free fax)
www.readthistome.org
E-mail: info@readthistome.org

ReadThisToMe is a free reading service for people who are blind or have low vision. All that is required is a telephone line and a fax machine. No computer is necessary.

The individual faxes the document to be read to the ReadThisToMe toll-free fax number: 1-877-333-8848. The first page of the fax needs to be a cover page that includes the reader’s first name and callback (voice) phone number.

The document itself can be just about anything: a handwritten letter, a bill, a can of food, or a multi-page magazine article.

One of ReadThisToMe's volunteer readers will call the individual back — usually within an hour and read the document. The service is available throughout the U.S. and Canada.

P.O. Box 900
Woodland Hills, CA 91365
818-992-0500
818-999-3265
www.rpinternational.org
E-mail: info@rpint.org

RP International provides information, counseling, visual aids, and research funds for a range of degenerative retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher's Syndrome.

Sight & Function Enhancement Visual Rehabilitation Center
1700 Alhambra Blvd., #100
Sacramento, CA 95816
916-731-5503
888-400-3330 (Toll free)
916-453-2763 (Fax)
www.norcalsafefoundation.org
E-mail: lowvision@norcalsafefoundation.org

SAFE emphasizes a team approach utilizing ophthalmologists, optometrists,
occupational therapists and other low vision professionals to provide rehabilitation
services.

An ophthalmologist and/or optometrist performs a comprehensive evaluation which assesses many vision functions, finds the best vision to work with, determines methods to maximize that vision, and prescribes training by an occupational therapist.

Most patients then work with one of our occupational therapists who provide a unique method of training in the use of peripheral vision, modification of activities so they can be completed with less vision, training in the use of adaptive equipment to compensate for vision loss, and increased confidence by integrating new techniques into daily life.

762 North Sierra Way
San Bernardino, CA 92410
909-884-3121
909-884-2964 (Fax)
No web site at present

5922 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
619-583-1542
619-583-2335 (Fax)
www.sdcb.org
E-mail: information@sdcb.org

1385 Bonair Road
Vista, California 92084
760-758-5956
760-758-0380 (Fax)
www.sdcb.org
E-mail: information@sdcb.org

The mission of the San Diego Center for the Blind is to increase the abilities of any adult with blindness or vision impairment to reach their own highest level of independence.

Programs and services include:

• Orientation and Mobility
• Individual, Group, and Family Counseling
• Activities of Daily Living
• Braille
• Sensory Awareness
• Low Vision
• English as a Second Language
• Transition
• Head Injury
• Diabetic Education
• Assistive Technology Evaluation and Training
• Job Development and Placement
• Information and Referral
• Public Information and Education
• Transportation is provided to those in need

101 North Bascom Avenue
San Jose, CA 95128
408-295-4016
408-295-1398 (Fax)
www.visionbeyondsight.org
E-mail: info@visionbeyondsight.org

For more than 50 years, SCVBC has provided support to individuals facing the uncertainties, fears, and challenges related to uncorrectable vision loss. We are a community-based organization dedicated to increasing the confidence, independence, and quality of life of the blind and visually impaired. SCVBC tackles complex vision loss issues comprehensively through rehabilitative, educational, and recreational services that ensure the long-term independence and empowerment of our clients.

Services include:

• Rehabilitation skills to perform the tasks essential to daily living, health care, safety, and independence
• Support to cope with vision loss
• Peer education and recreation activities to decrease isolation, practice learned skills, and increase mobility and quality of life
• Access to information
• Advocacy assistance
• In-home support services

12127 Mall Boulevard
Suite A-125
Victorville, CA 92392
800-737-5211 (Toll free)
760-270-9222 (Fax)
www.seeitbigger.com
E-mail: help@seeitbigger.com

Offers a wide selection of magnifiers, magnifying reading glasses, magnifying mirrors, and binoculars.

1142 West Iowa Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-245-7330
408-245-3762 (Fax)
www.sensoryaccess.com
Contact Sensory Access Foundation

The mission of the Sensory Access Foundation is to assist people who are blind or visually impaired to obtain or retain competitive employment by providing the highest quality access technology assessment, computer training, job placement, and accommodation services with a goal of achieving 100% job retention.

1786 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
877-764-7382 (Toll free)
510-845-7382
510-845-7410 (Fax)
www.seva.org
Send E-mail

The Seva Foundation was founded in 1978. For over 30 years, Seva Foundation has been a leading innovator of sustainable eyecare initiatives serving the world's most vulnerable populations. Through innovative local community partnerships, Seva-supported eye care programs in Asia and Africa have helped nearly three million blind people to see again by providing affordable cataract surgeries.

546 Searls Avenue
Nevada City, CA 95959
530-265-2121
530-265-2198 (Fax)
www.sierraservices.org
E-mail: info@SierraServices.org

Sierra Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers full services, at no charge, to clients in the foothill communities of Nevada and Placer Counties and beyond. Services include:

• Transportation
• Independent living skills
• Orientation and Mobility training
• Braille lessons
• Computer training
• Counseling
• Social gatherings
• Information and referral
• Advocacy
• Talking book applications

2318 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-345-2000
415-345-8455 (Fax)
www.ski.org

The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, a nonprofit independent research institute, is located at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Dedicated to research on human vision, it was founded to encourage a productive collaboration between the medical clinic and the scientific laboratory.

Smith-Kettlewell conducts research on many different topics, but its main interests are:

• Clinical studies which relate directly to the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases and disorders
• The development of devices and vocational programs to aid the partially sighted, blind and hearing impaired
• Basic research to understand how the eye and brain work.

2750 24th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
916-452-8271
916-452-2622 (Fax)
www.societyfortheblind.org
E-mail: frontdesk@societyfortheblind.org

The mission of the Society for the Blind is to empower individuals who are blind or have low vision to live productively and independently by building confidence through training, tools, and mentorship.

Programs and services include:

• Orientation and Mobility
• Daily Living Skills
• Braille Instruction
• Adapted Computer Skills
• Low Vision Clinic
• Senior Programs
• Youth Programs
• Access News by Phone
• Career Development Program

Department of Ophthalmology
2452 Watson Court
Palo Alto, CA 94303
650-723-6995
650-723-7918 (Fax)
http://ophthalmology.stanford.edu

The Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University is committed to advancing the understanding and treatment of ocular disorders. Department scientists and clinical researchers collaborate to investigate the origins of ocular disease, devise new diagnostic and treatment procedures, and provide patients with the best possible outcomes.

419 East Grand Avenue
Escondido, CA 92025
760-745-8105
www.talkingbibles.org
E-mail: info@talkingbibles.org

Talking Bibles gives non-readers and the blind access to the Bible in their native languages. Talking Bibles produces audio recordings of translated Scriptures in hundreds of languages and makes these recordings accessible in the form of Talking Bibles for millions of people around the world who cannot read.

12301 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-458-3501 x103
310-576-2749 (Fax)
http://drbillfoundation.org
E-mail: drbillfoundation@gmail.com

The Dr. Bill Takeshita Foundation provides information and assistance to help children who are visually impaired. The Foundation was established in 2004 after Dr. Takeshita, a pediatric low vision optometrist, lost his own sight but gained a new perspective on vision impairment.

Donald C. Fletcher, M.D.
California Pacific Medical Center
Department of Ophthalmology
2340 Clay Street, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94115
415-600-3901
415-600-3949 (Fax)
www.cpmc.org/services/eye/LVRprogram.html

The Frank Stein and Paul S. May Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation at California Pacific Medical Center offers a comprehensive approach to rehabilitating individuals with visual impairments.

Using the latest advancements in technology and training, physicians and therapists develop a tailored program to help maximize vision and lead a more independent life.

2430 Road 20, #B112
San Pablo, CA 94806-5006
510-234-4984
510-234-4986 (Fax)
www.hcblind.org
E-mail: info@hcblind.org

Students at The Hatlen Center for the Blind truly live on their own: paying their own rent, choosing and cooking their own food, and traveling to meet real-life needs. Students are encouraged to solve their own problems, choose their own lifestyles and experience the consequence of their choices.

We are witness to the fact that undertaking these challenges in a supportive environment is the best way to build a student’s confidence. Every part of the Hatlen curriculum is designed to address the individualized goals that will help each student make the final transition to that of living a life of their own.

1050 Linden Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90813
562-491-9275
Low Vision Center web site

The Low Vision Center at St. Mary Medical Center provides free services to the Southern California Community by helping persons with limited vision use their vision to the fullest potential, and by helping them achieve the greatest degree of independence possible regardless of the extent of their visual loss.

Any individual who receives a written referral from a licensed eye care practitioner may make an appointment to be seen by an optical aids counselor.

Services include:

• Optical Aids
• Orientation and Mobility
• Activities of Daily Living
• Reading Devices

Low Vision Rehabilitation Continuing Education for Eye Care Professionals
Rebecca Kammer, OD
2575 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831
714-449-7473
240-358-5864 (Fax)
www.thelowvisioninstitute.com
E-mail: rkammer@scco.edu

The Low Vision Institute provides continuing education courses in a media rich, online environment, for eye care professionals, therapists, and staff. Additionally, live, intaractive webconferencing sessions are offered. Most courses are COPE approved. Other certifications may be available on a course-by-course basis.

7915 Lindley Avenue
Reseda, CA 91335
818-708-1740
www.tlc4blind.org
E-mail: info@tlc4blind.org

Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind (TLC) is a not-for-profit agency providing programs and services for individuals who have multiple disabilities, including blindness.

TLC offers a variety of programs, including:

• Community-based day programs for adults
• After-school programs for children and young adults
• A residential program for visually impaired and blind adults.

Digital Audio Books for the Blind
Tom Peters, Project Coordinator
6106 South Stillhouse Road
Oak Grove, MO 64075
816-616-6746
www.unabridged.info
E-mail: tpeters@tapinformation.com
State contact information: www.unabridged.info/contact.htm

Unabridged provides narrated downloadable digital audio books for eligible individuals living in California, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont who are blind, visually impaired, or physically challenged.

The goal of Unabridged is to develop and evaluate a multi-state program that provides a downloadable library of narrated digital audio book content and services to blind, low vision, and physically challenged library users in the participating states.

The Unabridged collection contains thousands of fiction and nonfiction titles. Current popular fiction is the strength of the collection. There are books for children, tweens, and teens, as well as old-time radio programs.

www.va.gov 
Contact the VA

The mission of the Veterans' Healthcare System (VHA) is to serve the needs of America's veterans by providing primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services. Approximately a quarter of the nation's population -- approximately 70 million people -- are potentially eligible for VA benefits and services because they are veterans, family members or survivors of veterans.

Facilities Locator Home Page: 
Use this search feature to locate VA facility-related information quickly and accurately.

Fact Sheets about VA Services:
Use this search feature to locate VA News Releases and Fact Sheets on topics that include health care and benefits.

Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Veterans:
The mission of the VA Blind Rehabilitation Service is to coordinate a healthcare service delivery system that provides a continuum of care for blinded veterans extending from their home environment to the local VA facility and to the appropriate rehabilitation setting.

Visual Impairment Service Team (VIST):
The Visual Impairment Service Team (VIST) Coordinator serves as the initial contact person for getting help with vision loss. VIST Coordinators are located at local VA Medical Centers across the country. They work to ensure that veterans with visual impairments receive appropriate benefits and services.

The VIST Coordinator is a case manager who has major responsibility for the coordination of all services for legally blind veterans and their families. Duties include providing and/or arranging for the provision of appropriate treatment plans and programs in order to enhance a blinded veteran's functioning level.

Other duties include identifying new cases of blindness, providing professional counseling, resolving problems, arranging annual healthcare reviews, and conducting education programs relating to blindness.

Services for blind and visually impaired veterans include:

• Orientation and Mobility
• Independent Living Skills
• Manual Skills
• Visual Skills and Low Vision Services
• Computer Access Training
• Physical Conditioning
• Recreation
• Adjustment to Blindness
• Family Program

1060 Fulton Mall
Suite 315
Fresno, CA 93721
559-222-4447
No web site at present

Low Vision Services
Warren Barr, O.D.
1200 Artesia Blvd., Suite 1
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-372-5213
www.visionaryoptometryinc.com  

Formerly Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and
Doran Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
www.vistacenter.org

Palo Alto office:
2470 El Camino Real, Suite 107
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-858-0202
650-858-0214 (Fax)
E-mail: info@vistacenter.org

Santa Cruz office:
413 Laurel Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-458-9766
E-mail: information@vistacenter.org

The Vista Center serves individuals with vision loss in San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. Serving more than 1,900 clients and families each year, Vista Center helps clients reach their highest potential through programs that promote independence and improve quality of life.

17328 Ventura Blvd. #195
Encino, CA 91316
866-396-7035
www.worldaccessfortheblind.org
E-mail: daniel.kish@worldaccessfortheblind.org

World Access for the Blind, a non-profit organization, uses a modern, no-limits approach to equalize opportunities for the success of blind people.

World Access for the Blind "…strives to improve the quality of interaction between blind and sighted people by facilitating equal access to the world's resources and opportunities. We are interested in more than meeting the minimum requirements for functioning and life satisfaction. We believe in mutual respect, consideration, and accommodation of blind and sighted people by society. We will also help to mobilize resources, facilitate collaborations, and provide specialized expertise in nonvisual human perception to guide and focus the development of effective and respectful strategies and technologies to expand nonvisual capabilities."