Whether it’s a lifelong condition or a recent development, life with blindness or low vision is sometimes challenging.
It can be isolating, it can cause uncertainty for the future, it can affect a person’s self-confidence, their relationships, and their sense of independence.
It’s important to ensure a person’s emotional and mental wellbeing during their vision loss journey, and Vision Australia’s Quality Living program is in place to do just that.
Quality Living is a group program that runs for eight weeks, led by trained facilitators, covering topics and issues chosen by the participants.
“We cover a range of topics in any given group,” Sarah Evans, Vision Australia Quality Living coordinator, said.
“Usually emotional and practical supports for issues like losing your license. We’ll talk about the grief in that, but we also discuss the practicalities like what you can do to overcome that issue,” Sarah said.
Some topics commonly addressed in a Quality Living program:
- Grief and loss process
- Building confidence
- Maintaining relationships
- Assistive technology
- Independence strategies
- Financial entitlements
A significant component of the Quality Living program is the social support.
Split into groups with others of a similar age and with the commonality of vision loss, participants have the opportunity to engage with others who have experienced or are experiencing the same sort of emotional and practical challenges.
“People really appreciate the opportunity to come together and speak with other people who’ve had similar experiences,” Sarah said.
There are also Quality Living groups for people who are blind or have low vision that discuss parenting and employment, while there are also groups for carers, family, and other support people who are blind or have low vision.
If you’re interested in participating in a Quality Living group, register your interest.
If you’d like to learn more about the Quality Living program, call Vision Australia on 1300 74 84 66, or email us at [email protected].