News Archive 2004
- The launch of Visibility
- Go! Bowlers do well in the Finals
- People with Central Visual Loss Develop their Reading Skills
- Creative Writers set to Publish Anthology
- Identification Research Project shows need for better Co-ordinator of Provision
The launch of Visibility
(June 2004)
On Thursday 3rd June many people gathered at the Trades Hall in Glasgow to launch Visibility, the new name for Glasgow & West of Scotland Society for the Blind. People who use Visibility's services, supporters, board members and staff were present to hear Bobby Simpson, the Chairperson of the Board, speak about Visibility's long history and development. There was music from members of the Go! Guitar group and an opportunity for everyone to meet old friends and talk.
Go! Bowlers do well in the Finals
(April 2004)
Two teams from Visibility competed in the British Blind Ten Pin Bowling league and one of them is already leading the competition after just 4 games.
The teams are the first from Scotland to take part in the league and Visibility GO! Development Worker, Sharon Moncrieff, who is part of the winning team, is bowled over by their early success. She said:
Visibility GO! project runs a whole variety of activities for visually impaired people and when ten pin bowling was suggested as a new sport, I knew we were on to a winner.
When we formed GO! Bowlers and GO! Strikers, the team members decided amongst themselves that they wanted to compete in the British league.
We have a very dedicated group of people who want to enjoy themselves as well as performing well. It's a great outing for all of us and to find out GO! Bowlers is at the top of the league gives us a real boost.
The teams play at the AMF bowling alley on Elliot Street in Finnieston.
One of the team members, has been playing bowls for fun for years. She said it makes a real difference to be able to compete on a level pegging.
Everyone on the team and everyone we compete against is visually impaired and so the results mean much more to me than when I played with sighted friends. It gives me a real boost that even though we're the new team on the block, we're giving others something to think about.
Update: Congratulations to the Go! bowlers who were second in the finals.
People with Central Visual Loss Develop their Reading Skills
(March 2004)
Over the last six months Visibility has been helping people with central vision loss to develop their reading skills.
Visibility is the only organisation in the UK to implement this kind of reading programme and has called the pilot project, New View.
By implementing a reading technique, eccentric reading, which was developed by the academic community in Sweden in the 1990s, New View has finished its first phase with very encouraging results.
Out of the twelve people who volunteered to do the reading trials last October, eleven have a good functional reading ability e.g. they can read their letters and telephone numbers. Some have taken so well to the technique that they're able to read newspapers and books.
One participant could not read anything before she started New View and now she can read her letters, bills, telephone numbers and watch the television better.
She said: It has a brought a new lease of life. Before I was dependent on others to do things for me and I didn't feel in control of what I did. Now, because I can read again, I'm a lot more independent and confident about everything. It just makes every day that more enjoyable.
Visibility was able to implement this first phase of New View thanks to funding from the Glasgow City Council Literacy and Numeracy Programme and now following it's success Visibility is looking to roll out the project to other areas.
Creative Writers set to Publish Anthology
(March 2004)
The GO! creative and song writing classes have been collating their poems, stories and songs to be published as an anthology.
A selection of the material produced at the GO! creative writing workshops is being published later this year after the group won a Royal Mail Stepping Stone award to produce a book, tape and CD rom of their work.
GO! creative writing tutor Fiona Parrot has compiled the works and is looking forward to seeing the end product.
Everyone has worked really hard to get final pieces together. Each of them are very personal, reflecting a whole range of emotions. The work ranges from poems about the power of speech to stories about the strength of families. It is poignant and entertaining and everyone should be very proud of their achievements.
The GO! art group have provided the design for the book's cover and the award winning novelist Louise Welch (The Cutting Room) has written an introduction to the anthology.
Identification Research Project talks to the people of Clydebank
(December 2003)
Visibility's most recent research project aims to explore how many people with serious sight loss are not known to specialist services and why this is the case. National data indicates that up to 2/3rds of the visually impaired community may not be in touch with specialist health or council services.
Working in the Clydebank area, with West Dunbartonshire Council and Greater Glasgow NHS Board, Visibility researcher Susie Campbell has identified and interviewed over 30 people with significant sight loss, many of whom were unaware of the range of services which could benefit them. Susie explained:
Although this is a small sample, it is already showing some interesting trends. For example, many of the people interviewed are getting some help, but this help is not specifically related to their sight loss.
Although these initial findings do not support the view that large numbers of people with a visual impairment are unknown to services, it is apparent that there are many that would benefit from information, support and a wider range of services to improve their quality of life.
2004 Annual Report
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