Podcast

David Hie says the key to successfully living with a visual impairment is being the same person you were before you lost your vision.

“You do things a little bit differently than you used to. A little bit slower than you used to. But, besides driving, you can still do everything you did when you had vision.”

David began having issues with his vision in 2007 at the age of 44 years old. “From the couch in our living room, I could look into the kitchen and see the clock on the microwave. That is how I would find out the time,” he says. “One day, I looked over, and I could not see the time. I thought, ‘what happened to the microwave?’ It turns out it was there. I just couldn’t see it.”

David had developed cataracts in both eyes, resulting from increased pressure caused by glaucoma. Despite surgeries to remove cataracts and drains to reduce pressure, he ultimately lost most of his vision. Today, he only sees shadows, changes in light, and some colors.

In the beginning, David says, there was a lot of sadness and stress. “I lost two-thirds of my income because I was not working, I lost my freedom and my flexibility. I did not want to be a burden to my wife and daughter. I was always the person that was there to give people rides places, now suddenly I was the one that always needed a ride.”

He remembers one day asking his daughter to take him to Marshall’s to buy underwear. “I had been to the store dozens of times, so I knew where I needed to go. I told her to go off and shop and that I would be fine. I found the underwear without a problem, but then I realized I could not read the sizes. It hit me. When my daughter returned, I told her I just wanted to leave. She offered to help, but I was just too frustrated.”

It was David’s wife who found IN-SIGHT. Here, he says he found the support he needed to get back on track. “There are people who helped that don’t even know it.”

He says that coming to support groups, Yoga classes, ceramics workshops, and other programs at IN-SIGHT has helped him to meet other people. “Listening to people’s stories and knowing that they are facing the same challenges has helped me to feel normal. I hope that sharing my experiences has helped them too.”

After being out of work for sixteen months during the early days of his vision loss, David returned to his longtime job at M-F Athletic, where he works in the warehouse part-time.

David says he likes to keep busy when he is not working. He particularly enjoys the weekly Yoga classes. Stretching and other exercises have helped him to stay in shape. “Some of my friends can’t believe that I take Yoga, but I tell them that I can bend down and touch the floor, which is something I had not been able to do for twenty years!”

David has also taken up a new hobby, indoor rock climbing. With help from his friend Steve, he has been able to learn how to climb the rock walls at Rock Spot Climbing, where he recently made it to the top of the thirty-foot wall.

He also maintains a good sense of humor when things don’t go as planned. He laughs when telling the story of mistakenly putting on his wife’s bathrobe, which was hanging on the hook next to his. “You look good in pink,” his wife told him when he came out of the bathroom.

David, who uses a long white cane to assist with mobility, says it used to bother him when people stared at him. “I realized, though, that the reason they are staring is that they have really never seen someone who is blind out in the community,” David says that by using his cane out in public, he can show that people who are blind can be independent.

While leaving Rock Spot Climbing recently, a fellow climber saw David using his white cane to navigate the building. She approached David and said that her husband had recently lost his vision and was struggling. David could answer her questions and offer advice, including that he connects with IN-SIGHT for services.

David is the first to admit that living with a visual impairment is not always easy. “I miss driving every day. People tell me I’ll get used to it, but I won’t. If I plan to have dinner at Chelo’s and then decide at the last minute to go to Davenport’s instead, I can’t make that change because too many arrangements had to be made to get me to Chelo’s. That’s the part that people don’t understand.”

Despite the challenges, David has used his humor, determination, and support from his family to live a full life. And he is always open to adventure, including plans sometime soon to try out axe throwing at a center next to the rock-climbing gym.

There are a lot of opportunities to meet new people, learn new skills, and build your independence this spring at IN-SIGHT. Click on the program title you are interested in registering for to be taken to the appropriate registration form.

Introduction to Seeing AI

This workshop is currently full. To be added to the waiting list and contacted if additional seats become available, please email your name to info@in-sight.org.

SEEING AI is a free application available on iPhones and iPads that helps people with visual impairments to navigate the world. The app can read text, identify products through scanned bar codes, recognize currency, identify colors, and describe scenes and photos. This workshop will provide an app overview and hands-on examples of how it can enhance independence. To participate in this workshop, you must have a working iPhone or iPad updated with iOS 16 or higher. Participants must also download the SEEING AI app before the workshop date. (Tuesday, April 25, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM, In-Person at IN-SIGHT).

Springtime in Rhode Island Tour

This workshop is currently full. To be added to the waiting list and contacted if additional seats become available, please email your name to info@in-sight.org.

What better way to end a long winter than a visit to a tulip farm with the flowers in full bloom? Join us for this unique trip that includes visiting the Wicked Tulip Flower Farm in Preston, CT, where you can smell the flowers and pick a small bunch to bring home. After we visit the farm, we will enjoy a delicious lunch at the Matunuck Oyster Bar. After lunch, if you still have room, you can grab some ice cream at Brickley’s and then browse at Peter Pots Pottery. Each IN-SIGHT client can purchase an optional sighted guest ticket. Tickets include the cost of transportation, the tulip farm tour, a bunch of tulips, lunch, and driver gratuity. Optional purchases at Brickley’s and Peter Pots are not included. (Monday, May 1, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM).

Ceramics Workshops

This workshop is currently full. To be added to the waiting list and contacted if additional seats become available, please email your name to info@in-sight.org.

Join us at Mudstone Studios for one or both of our upcoming ceramics workshops. The spring series will be a guided project during which we will create working ceramic flutes and xylophones! These instruments will be made using clay molded by each participant, maximizing creativity. Staff from Mudstone Studios and IN-SIGHT are available to offer guidance and support. Mudstone Studios is located at 30 Cutler Street in Warren, RI, and is accessible via the RIde program. (Mondays, May 8, 15, and 22, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM, In-Person at Mudstone Studios).

Saturday, April 1
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Warwick Public Library
600 Sandy Lane, Warwick, RI

Registrations for the film screening are currently closed as we have met the attendance limits for this event.

Going Blind is a feature-length documentary about vision loss in the United States. It interweaves Joseph Lovett’s struggle to keep his glaucoma at bay with the stories of six people he meets dealing with different sight loss levels.

While initially living with a visual impairment can be overwhelming, this film demonstrates how much is available regarding vision enhancement techniques, low vision services, and technology to engage people with sight loss.

The film is an excellent resource for those with vision loss and family and friends struggling to understand the process and the best ways to adapt emotionally and practically. After the free screening of the film, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. Information about resources will also be available.

PLEASE NOTE: This trip is currently sold out. If you would like to be added to the waiting list and contacted if additional seats become available, please email your name and the number of tickets needed to info@in-sight.org.

Monday, May 1

9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

What better way to end a long winter than a visit to a tulip farm with the flowers in full bloom? Join us for this unique trip that includes visiting the Wicked Tulip Flower Farm in Preston, CT, where you can smell the flowers and pick a small bunch to bring home. After we visit the farm, we will enjoy a delicious lunch at the Matunuck Oyster Bar. After lunch, if you still have room, you can grab some ice cream at Brickley’s and then browse at Peter Pots Pottery. Each IN-SIGHT client can purchase an optional sighted guest ticket. Tickets include the cost of transportation, the tulip farm tour, a bunch of tulips, lunch, and driver gratuity. Optional purchases at Brickley’s and Peter Pots are not included.

Mondays, May 8, 15, and 22
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
In-Person Workshop at Mudstone Studios

Join us at Mudstone Studios for one or both of our upcoming ceramics workshops. The spring series will be a guided project during which we will create working ceramic flutes and xylophones! These instruments will be made using clay molded by each participant, maximizing creativity. Staff from Mudstone Studios and IN-SIGHT are available to offer guidance and support. Mudstone Studios is located at 30 Cutler Street in Warren, RI, and is accessible via the RIde program.

To register, complete the form below:

Thursday, April 6
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM
In-Person Workshop at IN-SIGHT

Just in time for spring and summer family get-togethers, come and learn how to make three simple desserts that require only a few ingredients and no cooking. Participants will make an individual-sized trifle, milk chocolate truffles, and an edible robin’s nest that can be filled with candy or other treats. All materials needed to create these desserts will be provided hands-on instruction by IN-SIGHT staff members. This is a donor-funded program offered at no cost to IN-SIGHT clients. A light lunch will also be provided.

To register, complete the form below:

Saturday, April 1
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Warwick Public Library
600 Sandy Lane, Warwick, RI

Going Blind is a feature-length documentary about vision loss in the United States. It interweaves Joseph Lovett’s struggle to keep his glaucoma at bay with the stories of six people he meets dealing with different sight loss levels.

While initially living with a visual impairment can be overwhelming, this film demonstrates how much is available regarding vision enhancement techniques, low vision services, and technology to engage people with sight loss.

The film is a great resource for those living with vision loss and family and friends who may be struggling to understand the process and the best ways to adapt emotionally and practically. After the free screening of the film, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. Information about resources will also be available.

To register, complete the form below:

Tuesday, April 25
10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
In-Person at IN-SIGHT

SEEING AI is a free application available on iPhones and iPads that helps people with visual impairments to navigate the world. The app can read text, identify products through scanned bar codes, recognize currency, identify colors, and describe scenes and photos. This workshop will provide an app overview and hands-on examples of how it can enhance independence. To participate in this workshop, you must have a working iPhone or iPad updated with iOS 16 or higher. Participants must also download the SEEING AI app before the workshop date.

To register, complete the form below:

Thursday, March 30
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
In Person at IN-SIGHT

“OrCam Technologies develops pioneering artificial intelligence solutions that empower people, enrich their daily experiences, and realize their dreams. Regain your independence and bring out your best with our wearable and handheld Personal AI products.”

Join local OrCam representative Marilyn Davidson for this informative, hands-on demonstration of OrCam’s popular MyEye, “a revolutionary voice-activated device that attaches to virtually any glasses. It can instantly read you text from a book, smartphone screen, or any other surface, recognize faces, help you shop independently, work more efficiently, and live more independently! OrCam MyEye conveys visual information audibly, in real-time and offline. device.”

During this workshop, you will have plenty of time to try the device and have your questions answered.

To register, please complete the form below:

IN-SIGHT is seeking people to help us achieve our mission to inspire confidence and build skills that help people who are visually impaired and blind to thrive and succeed!

Social Worker

This new position at IN-SIGHT presents the selected candidate with the opportunity to provide support, information, and resources for people with vision loss. Full position description.

Community Outreach and Education Coordinator

This new position at IN-SIGHT presents the selected candidate with the opportunity to build a dynamic new program responsible for providing outreach and education about our services to potential clients and referral sources and connecting new clients with our programs and services. Full position description.

Part-Time Optometrist

We seek a licensed optometrist interested in providing low-vision evaluations to join our clinic for adults with visual impairments. Flexible schedule available.