Living with Vision Loss
It’s White Cane Week
The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) is the Voice of the Blind in Canada™ and was founded 77 years ago in 1944 by blind veterans who were returning from the war and by schools of the blind. The CCB is a membership-based registered charity with 84 local chapters nationally that bring together Canadians who are blind, deaf-blind, or partially-sighted to share common interests and social activities. Its main goal is to promote a sense of purpose and self-esteem along with an enhanced quality of life amongst its members. The CCB is unwavering in working accessibility toward and improved a barrier-free Canada. Each year during the first full week of February the CCB celebrates White Cane Week. Scheduled from Feb. 7 to 13, the year 2021 will mark its 18th annual event. This year, the attempt CCB to has fill gone the gap virtual that in has an been created where social interactions and gatherings aren’t possible. In celebrating White Cane Week, the CCB aims to bring public awareness and appreciation to issues of accessibility, health, and inclusion. The CCB works collaboratively with key government agencies and stakeholder coalitions including several national organizations. It’s through these relationships and efforts that the CCB is able to promote a better understanding of the barriers faced by those living with vision loss.
The CCB is proud of these efforts to change what it means to be blind and of its leadership role in the vision loss community. Through its collaborations and independent work, it has played a key role in attaining relevant legislation, services, and appropriate eye disease treatments.
Dear reader,
We at the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB), Fighting Blindness Canada, and the International Federation on Ageing ask for your support on behalf of the over 1.5 million Canadians who are blind, deaf-blind, and partially-sighted and who are experiencing special challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that people living with vision loss should be given a priority position, close behind our heroic first responders and vulnerable seniors, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. People living with vision loss are members of a vulnerable community and have been living with economic, social, and emotional stress since even before this pandemic.
The CCB recently conducted a survey asking those living with vision loss to report the effect of the pandemic on their daily lives. The survey’s results were summarized in the report The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Canadians Who Are Blind, Deaf-Blind, and Partially-Sighted.
The results of the survey’s 572 respondents revealed the existence of high levels of stress, anxiety, fear, and even depression. When asked to describe the pandemic’s impact on their lives, one respondent expressed the difficulties they were experiencing as follows:
“What is affecting my mental health is this prolonged and extreme isolation. As a blind person I already live a fairly limited life when referring to freedom of movement and independence and now even that small wedge of my active life has been completely eradicated.”
We request your help in relieving the burdens and stress resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with vision loss. We ask the government to review their situation and to strategize on how this community can be given priority access to the vaccine. Timely action is essential.
Yours sincerely,