Visual Impairment (VI) Awareness session at Wolverhampton

Black Country Sight Loss Council (SLC) volunteers, Meena Rattu and Carl Galloway, held a Visual Impairment (VI) Awareness session at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club.

This included staff, volunteers and visitors including Mayor of Wolverhampton, Cllr Sandra Samuels OBE, trying out sim specs that simulate various eye conditions.

A tennis club volunteer said: “I didn’t appreciate how limiting it would be and how many different ways sight loss could be affected.”

Steve Chilvers, Chairman of the club, said “I automatically felt like I needed to look down and didn’t want to walk around wearing them (sim specs) as I didn’t feel safe. It made me feel really claustrophobic. I wanted to look down to see but that meant I couldn’t see in front of me.”

The Visual Impairment (VI) Awareness session at Wolverhampton is just one of the many great projects and events Sight Loss Council volunteers are involved in to raise awareness and improve access to services in their local areas.

Carl Black Country Sight Loss Council from  has been working with the club to set up VI tennis sessions and #MakeSportAccessible for all.  Read more on Thomas Pocklington Trust’s #MakeSportAccessible campaign

Image: Carl Galloway holding a tennis racket standing with Cllr Sandra Samuels who is wearing sim specs

 

Publication date: 01 July 2022