Second Sense

All of our services are offered free-of-charge to anyone with vision loss: no paperwork, no referrals, and no waiting period. Additionally, we are able to respond quickly and address each client's immediate needs. Since 2008 we have increased the number of clients served by 33%, providing direct service to over 500 clients each year and education a... nd professional training to 2,000 individuals. Our programs are designed to have a direct and immediate impact on the quality of our clients' lives and to prepare them for more training. Second Sense empowers our clients, encouraging them to take control of their lives, not become dependent upon our services. Describe specifically the strategies you have used to gather input from high risk, underserved and/or disadvantaged population and their leaders as a basis for program or service development. In 2003, we held focus groups with service providers and clients and surveyed our target audience to find what vision rehabilitation training they had received and what training they still needed. We asked about services available in the Chicago area and experiences with other service providers. We saw a need for client-centered vision rehabilitation training in the Chicago area. There were huge gaps in the training available and the population served. Low vision optometric or vocational rehabilitation services were the focus of most agencies, with standardized training programs being the norm. We also found that most vision rehabilitation training was not provided by professionals trained in vision rehabilitation, but rather by individuals with vision loss who were using their personal experience as the foundation for their training. We developed a five-year strategic plan, changing our service model to focus on vision rehabilitation and provide direct training to our clients. Second Sense offers both support and training programs to help our clients regain their confidence and independence. All services are provided by vision rehabilitation professionals and offered ...Read More