Surrey Association for Visual Impairment

Sight for Surrey has been supporting people who are blind, vision impaired and deafblind for nearly 100 years. We now also provide services for people who are profoundly Deaf or hard of hearing, delivering specialist help to more than 6,000 people across Surrey. People with sensory loss can be isolated and alone, even in a crowd. We aim to break through that isolation and help them to be included, respected and listened to. Our specialist teams of qualified and skilled professionals empower people with a range of sensory conditions to have choice and control over their lives and support them to be as independent as possible. Our missions is to support sensory impaired people to overcome... read more Sight for Surrey has been supporting people who are blind, vision impaired and deafblind for nearly 100 years. We now also provide services for people who are profoundly Deaf or hard of hearing, delivering specialist help to more than 6,000 people across Surrey. People with sensory loss can be isolated and alone, even in a crowd. We aim to break through that isolation and help them to be included, respected and listened to. Our specialist teams of qualified and skilled professionals empower people with a range of sensory conditions to have choice and control over their lives and support them to be as independent as possible. Our missions is to support sensory impaired people to overcome day-to-day challenges, achieve their potential and lead an independent life. We provide specialist, hands on, practical support tailored to the needs of the sensory impaired person and their family. People are at the heart of everything we do. We want to inspire sensory impaired people to take the small steps today and achieve the breakthroughs tomorrow. We are proud to be the only organisation of our kind dedicated to supporting people in Surrey. Our service: Children and Young People We support children and young people who have a vision impairment to maximise their life opportunities. We do this by teaching strategies and concepts enabling children to understand the world in a non-visual way. This is achieved through a programme of individual training, group recreational activities to suit all ages and family support. Deaf services British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language for many people who are profoundly Deaf. We offer social work and community officer support as well as a range of interpreting services to support Deaf people. Deafblind Services We run inclusive events for people who have combined sight and hearing loss, supporting people to make their own decisions and join in with their families. Our specialist communicator guide service is available to ensure that their impairment doesn't become a barrier to understanding and being understood. Hard of Hearing Services People with moderate hearing loss may have difficulty following speech without hearing aids and many rely on lip-reading. We aim to ensure people have the training and necessary equipment to stay safe and live their lives to their full potential. Vision Impaired Services Starting with our hospital team working in the hospital eye clinics, we deliver a complete service to people who are losing their sight and to those registered as being blind. Our qualified rehabilitation workers deliver comprehensive specialist support so people can learn to live their lives to the full. JobSense We are passionate about helping people find work. Our employment support services bring together professional expertise and ongoing mentoring support through a series of workshops and training sessions. We are building partnerships with local employers to offer tangible work experience placements and employment opportunities. Our workshops include: specialist IT training, CV writing, interview skills, self-advocacy and core development skills. We've teamed up with leading specialists to deliver the best quality training and experiences to prepare people for work. Equipment services We run personalised and specialist services delivering hearing and low vision assessments advising people on the equipment that will work best for them. We have an equipment showroom in the middle of Surrey and also take the service around the County to ensure people can access these services. Volunteers We are an ambitious charity and will continue to provide specialist services whilst also offering a range of additional support - such as social opportunities or employment monitoring. We have an army of dedicated and passionate volunteers, whose roles include driving, befriending and fundraising; each one bringing something different and increasing our organisation's capacity.