National Information & Advisory Services

SeeAbility is continually exploring new ways of reaching and improving the lives of more visually impaired people with multiple disabilities through our innovative information and advisory services, including:

eye 2 eye Community Development Projects

SeeAbility's eye 2 eye Campaign aims to raise awareness and improve eye care and vision for people with learning disabilities through community development projects in locations across the UK.

Since the eye 2 eye Campaign launched in 2005 community development projects have been established in West Sussex, Sheffield, Bristol, Barnsley and Birmingham, together with a pan-London project. Working in partnership with local authorities and health services these initiatives are raising awareness, identifying needs and working together to address them. This has included providing support for people with a learning disability to access appropriate eye tests and eye health care, preventing avoidable blindness.

For more information about the SeeAbility eye 2 eye Campaign, please visit the eye 2 eye Campaign section of this website.

If you would be interested in establishing a SeeAbility eye 2 eye Community Development Project in your area, please contact Martin Thomas (National Manager - Community Development Projects) via e-mail at m.thomas@seeability.org

Look Up

The National Information & Advisory Service called Look Up launched in June 2007. Look Up provides adults with learning disabilities, carers, eye care professionals and health & social care staff with a wealth of information about eye care and vision for people with learning disabilities. This service which is a collaboration between SeeAbility and RNIB, is available via a website, publications, a telephone helpline and an e-mail forum. To find out more, visit www.lookupinfo.org.

Research & Practice Development

• Promoting Social Inclusion & Access To Services Within Minority Ethnic Communities
  
  SeeAbility has worked in partnership with both local authorities and London School of Economics during recent years to undertake research to explore the reasons for a limited take-up of services by people with a visual impairment from minority ethnic communities and to consider how their social inclusion could be promoted. As a result of one research project, SeeAbility established a community development role in Tower Hamlets, supporting people with a visual impairment to be aware of and access culturally appropriate services that meet their social and health care needs.
  
  To access the Final Report of a three year reseach project funded by the Community Fund and conducted in partnership with London School of Economics about Promoting Social Inclusion for Visually Impaired People from Minority Ethnic Communities, please click here to visit the research section of this website.
  
  
• Lobbying & Campaigning
  
  SeeAbility is committed to developing its lobbying and campaigning activity to ensure that the needs of people with a visual impairment and additional disabilities are heard, acknowledged in policy and appropriately resourced. SeeAbility's Information & Advisory Services will be at the forefront of this work, drawing together views and experiences gained through all of SeeAbility's activities.

 If you are interested in working with us to develop SeeAbility's Information & Advisory Services, or would like more information about this aspect of our work, please contact Deborah Hamlin (Director of Information & Advisory Services) on 01372 755 049 or via e-mail at d.hamlin@seeability.org