Sutton Vision provides a range of groups and activities and a volunteer-led service, that provides social connection for people who, because of their vision loss, would otherwise be isolated at home.
This lively community, made up of members, staff and the volunteers, describe it as “a friend’s network”, so we’re delighted to have awarded this community hub a Fight for Sight grant to help it carry out this life-enriching work.
Sutton Vision is an established charity with a clear mission and track record of empowering people with vision loss for more than 50 years. Post-pandemic everything had changed for the community, so the charity surveyed members to better understand what people needed and wanted.
Sutton Vision members knew what they wanted...
People living with vision loss in Sutton had become less connected and more lonely following the pandemic, according to survey responses. Sutton Vision’s findings mirror those of our insight report on loneliness and isolation, Outside. As people went out less, their health deteriorated, and confidence was reduced.
Survey respondents were particularly keen to:
- Get out of their homes,
- Meet other people with sight loss,
- Make better connections with their local community.
Our Social Impact Grants Assessment Panel (SGAP) were keen we support this project because of its focus on tackling Loneliness and Isolation, and so we awarded Sutton Vision a grant to fund Community Links, specifically for:
General socializing opportunities >
Read on for a flavour of the difference these activities are making for those involved...
Group Activities
Some of our funding has supported social and activity groups at Sutton Vision, including yoga, knitting, scrabble and bridge. Peer support groups for people with Charles Bonnet syndrome, Macular Disease and Glaucoma are also held in their building, which is a convenient and accessible venue for participants.
Kristina, who has macular degeneration, enjoys the variety of activities on offer and how they enable her to connect with people:
“I do lots of things here, crosswords, quizzes, yoga. And there’s a working age group, which is basically - pub. We love that! It's a nice social gathering and you get to find out other things, because other people do different things and they've got different hobbies.”
Another Sutton Vision participant, Sue, has a lively social life outside Sutton Vision and sings in a choir, but the companionship she’s found at Sutton Vision’s different group activities has made her feel less alone in her vision loss journey:
“I find I need to have time with people who are going through some of the things that I'm going through, because my friends don't fully understand.”
Sue had found that her vision impairment had changed her personality:
“I can't always recognise faces, and I find that hard. Because I would joke with people before but now I can't read their expressions. So, I backed off a little bit from what I used to be. But the good thing is here there's an understanding. It makes you feel normal. I find I can cope with it better.”
Community groups and general socialising
Community groups at Sutton Vision give participants more general opportunities to meet up and socialise. Their all-male Men in Shades group and Working Age social group are both run in other community venues and have enabled people to feel more confident about navigating the town centre, local cafes, restaurants and pubs.
Debbie, 54, moved to Sutton two years ago, and found her Retinitis Pigmentosa made it difficult to meet people. Community groups have made a significant difference to her social life:
“I was very isolated; I wasn't going out literally at all. And now [Sutton Vision] can’t get rid of me! Yoga, bingo, the pub, the days out, like going to Brighton, I wouldn't be able to get to Brighton any other way.”
And being together means being able to share experiences and learnings that help people to be more independent, as Debbie was delighted to demonstrate:
“The best tip I had was from Adrian, who comes in a lot. Somebody else was saying, ‘I find it really hard to put toothpaste on the toothbrush’. And I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ And Adrian said, ‘You put it on your teeth! Squirt in your mouth before you brush!’ I was sick of it going down the drain. It changed my life!”
“Without places like Sutton Vision you wouldn't know how many other people have got sight loss. You think you're on your own. But knowing that there's a lot of you, I find quite reassuring. And, I'm glad we're all friends.”
Trips and excursions
Trips and excursions arranged by Sutton Vision, tackle loneliness and isolation, as well as giving members of the community a sense of independence a boost. Mary is 84 and has explained she wouldn’t go on trips if it weren’t for Sutton Vision:
“Before, I wouldn't go anywhere. I always found with trips, the stress outweighed the pleasure, if you will. It's all stress about finding your way, organising the transport, getting there by train or bus. But you have to do it otherwise you'll lose the will. You lose your confidence, and you stay in more.”
Hampton Court Palace and Brighton have been highlights for Mary and her friends, who find strength in each other’s companionship:
“It's fun because you're getting to see somewhere different. You're with your friends and it's nice that we're all in the same boat. And we help each other out because we're all differently sighted. So, something that I can see maybe, Debbie can't, and vice versa. It's nice going out with other people that actually know you and understand.”
Telephone Befriending
People with sight loss who have additional medical or support needs, may find getting out more difficult. For people who can’t get out, the Telephone Befriending we helped to fund, where they have a weekly one-to-one call with a volunteer, is a lifeline. Many of Sutton Vision’s volunteers have lived experience, which means they can offer a different level of understanding and empathy.
Gill, has had Retinitis Pigmentosa for the last 35 years and volunteers at Sutton Vision with her Guide Dog, Rita. Once a week she calls people up as part of Sutton Vision’s life-changing Telephone Befriending:
“A lot of people can't get here. One lady, she's in a nursing home, and she's so sweet. Even though you would think, ‘What does she do all day?’, she's just got so much to say. And there's another guy, who lost his sight a couple of years ago, all of a sudden. He was a lorry driver and a DJ and he's in a pretty dark place; he hasn't got the confidence to come in here. So, these people look forward to these phone calls, it's a bit of a ‘oh, there is life out there’ thing.”
Another Sutton Vision member and volunteer, Pierre, has struggled with vision loss and also agoraphobia in the past; he found Telephone Befriending helped him to regain perspective:
“It was nice just to speak to someone, especially when I couldn't get out of the house. I was like, ‘Wow, you're in York Road, it’s still there!’ You forget there's the world out there. It was another little step in getting me out.”
The reassurance of shared experience
When asked what her life would be like without Sutton Vision, Mary was clear:
“Without [places like Sutton Vision] you wouldn't know how many other people have got sight loss. That's the bit. You think you're on your own. Because I don't know anybody in my block of flats who has got any sight loss. But that's the bit, knowing that there's a lot of you. Which I find quite reassuring really. And, I'm glad we're all friends.”
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