About Sight Support

Sight Support Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) is a registered charity which provides support services to people in Hull and East Yorkshire who are visually impaired.

We believe no-one should have to face sight loss alone and every visually impaired person should enjoy the same opportunities and quality of life as those who are fully sighted.

Our mission is to improve and enrich the quality of life for local people with sight loss through the provision of a wide range of support services, enabling them to reach their full potential and lead independent lives.

Formed in 1864 as Hull and East Riding Institute for the Blind, the charity currently supports almost 2,300 people of all ages and with a variety of eye conditions and levels of impairment. In 2018 the charity rebranded as Sight Support Hull and East Yorkshire (formerly Hull and East Riding Institute for the Blind) in an effort to engage with even more blind and partially sighted people.

With an increasingly ageing population, more and more people are likely to experience sight loss and thus demand for our support services will continue to increase. On average Sight Support HEY receives on average 30 new referrals each month.

Sight Support HEY currently offers a wide range of services to help local people deal with both the practical and emotional impact of sight loss including:

• A Resource Centre full of aids and equipment as well as advice and information from trained staff
• A Home Visiting service providing crucial support particularly to people newly diagnosed with sight loss
• Day Groups offering social opportunities complete with transport provided which is available to everyone however is most often attended by those who have mobility issues as well as sight loss
• Supported Housing for 23 visually impaired people of varying ages
  A Telephone Befriending offering regular calls to some of the most isolated people with sight loss
• Assistive Technology tuition to help people with sight loss to access facilities and services to help maintain independence
• A Transcription Service including Braille and audio for both individuals and organisations.
• The SocialEYES programme offering a range of activities and outings, for more independent people with sight loss, including walking, golf, acoustic shooting, tenpin bowling, walking football and a monthly outings club to local attractions and events.

Reason for wanting to be involved in working voices

Any service which is offering free advice and support on a range of health related topics has got to be a good thing.  I think the health assessments and advice that working voices can offer staff are invaluable; these are the types of things that a lot of people with busy working lives often intend to do but “don’t get round to”, so bringing them to the workplace is a great idea. These sort of services can have significant impact in supporting staff to have an improved sense of health and wellbeing and I hope helps to demonstrate to staff that as an organisation we care about their wellbeing.   It’s also important that staff who are busy working and supporting other people, as in our case, have the opportunity to have a say on aspects of important changes in NHS health-care within the area.

Find out more about Sight Support HEY here.