Eye Health Week 2015Find out our plans this yearPage 3

Issue four

Our centenary

Page 3

Our celebrations continue

Arts & crafts

Page 6

We hear from one of our instructors

Thank you!

Page 4

How your referrals help

2 | Welcome

A 2015 survey by Blind Veterans UK revealed that 61% of its veterans

wished their ophthalmologist or other eye health professional1 had told them about the support available from the charity when they were diagnosed with blindness or a vision impairment. The research also showed that almost a quarter of Blind Veterans UK’s veterans lived with sight loss for six years or more before they started to receive support.

More work to doThis shows there is room and a need for improvement, with regards to these statistics. Especially as veterans really do appreciate input from the experts they meet following diagnosis, with 73% of Blind Veterans UK beneficiaries saying they found their hospital eye clinic helpful when talking about their sight loss. This is why I wholeheartedly support the charity’s initiatives to encourage professionals to raise awareness of Blind Veterans UK’s services and refer people to the charity as early as possible.

One of the ways Blind Veterans UK is doing this is by sending a special mailing to ophthalmologists and other eye health professionals, coinciding with National Eye Health Week 2015 (you can read about this on page 3). This is something I urge you to look out for and read when you receive it. Of course, it’s important that referring veterans isn’t something that’s just done as a one-off during National Eye Health Week. We all need to make an effort every working day to look out for veterans who could benefit from the charity’s services and refer them appropriately.

Be a champion referrerSomeone who already does this is champion referrer Maggie Grinyer (see page 5). She works for East Sussex Association for the Blind and has been referring ex-Service men and women to Blind Veterans UK for nine years. If we could all be a little bit more like Maggie, I’m positive that hundreds, maybe thousands, more veterans would start to benefit from the wonderful support that Blind Veterans UK can provide them with.

It really can’t be underestimated the difference something like an activity week (see page 4) makes to the life of a blind or vision-impaired veteran. Focused on anything from amateur radio, to gardening, to fishing, the weeks give veterans a superb opportunity to try their hand at new hobbies or revisit old activities. Plus, the sharing of stories and experiences, and the general camaraderie among the veterans, makes a huge difference to their wellbeing too.

Welcome to your Blind Veterans UK BulletinAt Blind Veterans UK, we know that thousands of ex-Service men and women are still not aware of the life-changing support we can provide them with. That’s why Sarah-Lucie Watson, a consultant ophthalmologist and one of our trustees, strongly supports our efforts to get all professionals who may come into contact with veterans to talk about our services.

Increasing confidenceAlong with the activity weeks, the arts and crafts sessions the charity provides at its centres are particularly popular and beneficial. Instructors such as Nadia Wazera, who works at the charity’s Llandudno centre (read a Q&A with her on page 6), train veterans in painting, sculpture, mosaic making and many more creative activities. She says being creative and learning new skills can really help to increase the confidence of veterans.

Without referrals to the charity, veterans are also highly likely to miss out on vital practical support, such as specialist equipment for around the home and when they are outdoors. On page 7 you can read about the equipment Blind Veterans UK provides to veterans, which helps them to regain their independence and ensures they can do many things that they no longer thought possible.

As I’m sure you can tell, I am passionate about making sure many more blind and vision-impaired veterans receive the support they need and deserve. I hope you share this passion and do what you can to make them aware of Blind Veterans UK and direct them to the charity as early as possible.

Sarah-Lucie Watson MBBS FRCOphthConsultant ophthalmologistThe Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

If you have any feedback on this issue, or would like to receive it

in an alternative format, please contact noonealone@blindveterans.org.uk

1 January 2015 survey of Blind Veterans UK beneficiaries and carers conducted by Clarient Research

It’s especially fitting that one of the charity’s centenary celebrations is held

at the Abbey, as its cloisters house a memorial to Ian Fraser, one of the first chairmen of Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s). Blinded in World War I, Baron Fraser became chairman of the charity in 1921 and held the position for a remarkable 53 years.

Throughout 2015, there have also been many other centenary celebrations and activities taking place. They include a special garden party held at Buckingham Palace in June. Hosted by the Countess of Wessex, it was attended by over 2,000 veterans and their families, as well as some of the charity’s employees, volunteers and supporters.

Many special eventsThis year, we also launched our 100 Years, 100 Voices project, which tells the story of Blind Veterans UK from our

inception in 1915 to the present day. We also organised, and continue to hold, a number of local events at our centres in Brighton, Llandudno and Sheffield and other locations across the UK.

Plus, we were delighted to receive messages of congratulations from some of our high-profile supporters, including Sir Roger Moore, the Prime Minister David Cameron and our patron, HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

Blind Veterans UK would like to thank all of our supporters for their amazing support during such a special year. We’re already looking forward to the next 100 years of service.

3 | Our news

Westminster Abbey

Thanksgiving at

To mark the centenary of Blind Veterans UK, around 1,800 blind veterans and their guests will travel from around the UK to attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 6 October.

For more information on our centenary celebrations

and activities, please visit www.blindveterans.org.uk

Help us get noticed during National Eye Health Week National Eye Health Week takes place between 21–27 September. It’s the perfect time for us to raise awareness of who we are and the support we offer – something you can help us with.

If you’re an ophthalmologist in the UK or work in a healthcare setting,

please look out for the leaflet we’ll be sending you to coincide with National Eye Health Week. It explains how our services can help any of your patients who are vision-impaired veterans, regardless of when they served or how they lost their sight, and how to refer them to us.

Also, please remember that you can order our helpful information packs for your patients by emailing noonealone@blindveterans.org.uk During the week, we’ll also be sharing updates and veterans’ stories on our social media and website. Please share these to spread the word about our vital services and support, as we know there are still thousands of veterans out there who desperately need our help.

We’re also aiming to increase referrals through advertising in trade journals, as well as directly reaching more ex-Service men and women, and the people who know them, by promoting ourselves on pharmacy bags in military towns. This advertising is funded by Specsavers, one of our corporate partners, so a huge thank you to them for their support of our National Eye Health Week campaign.

4 | Our news

Holidays and activity weeks

Many of our veterans find the social and recreational aspects of our support are key in helping them to adjust to life with sight loss. Sharing stories and experiences with others in a similar situation, and the camaraderie of our veterans, means many find Blind Veterans UK like a second family.

A s well as visiting our centres for introductory weeks and training, veterans and their partners and carers can visit

them for respite, holidays or one of the charity’s themed activity weeks. So far this year, we’ve held 14 activity weeks that have focused on themes including our centenary, music, amateur radio, photography, bowling, art and gardening.

If you have any questions about these initiatives, or any other areas of our advocacy work, please email

lara.king@blindveterans.org.uk

Advocating for change for

Almost a quarter of our veterans lived with sight loss for six years or more before they started to receive our support.

We aim to change this.

Visiting the centres for an activity week or holiday really is a great way for veterans to try their hand at new hobbies or revisit old activities they thought they could no longer do because of their sight loss.

When 86-year-old Army veteran John Endres began to lose his sight in 2006, he didn’t think he’d be able to carry on his lifelong love of fishing. But, in July of this year, John visited our Llandudno centre to take part in our Fishing Week, where he was able to fish for the first time in years.

John said, “Once my sight went, I’d given up fishing because I couldn’t see to tie the flies anymore. It felt really good to be doing something that I thought I could no longer do. It was a really good week; I thoroughly enjoyed it; it was a marvellous chance to be able to fish again.

“There was a good group of us on the week, so it was great to get to know them all. We even had a small bet on who would catch the biggest and heaviest fish!”

To find out more about the social and recreational support Blind Veterans UK provides, please visit

www.noonealone.org.uk

At Blind Veterans UK, we want to reach more veterans, and ideally from the time they are diagnosed with blindness or vision impairment.

One of the ways we aim to do this is by securing statutory changes that will help us identify veterans who may benefit

from our services much earlier. In particular, we’re advocating for all ophthalmologists and other eye health professionals to ask people if they have a Service history when they fill in a Certificate of Vision Impairment form.

We’re also working with the Department of Health and sight loss charities to develop a joint Blind Veterans UK resource to be sent to all patients at an early point in their sight loss journey.

To support all of this work, we’re holding a parliamentary event on 23 February 2016. This will help us speak to MPs and key figures from across the military and sight loss sectors about these and many more important issues.

our veterans

One of our champion referrers is Maggie Grinyer, a former corporal

with the Women’s Royal Army Corps, who now works for East Sussex Association for the Blind. She began referring ex-Service men and women to Blind Veterans UK around nine years ago, following a tour of our Brighton centre.

“I knew the centre in Brighton was there but I never really thought much about it,” says Maggie. “I trained as an ECLO [eye clinic liaison officer] when both of my siblings started to lose their sight; it felt like the perfect job for me, as I understood their struggle day to day. It was during my training that I asked for a tour of the centre so I could get a better understanding of the vital work the charity does.”

Vital referralsMaggie says she now takes Blind Veterans UK application forms to all of her appointments and always asks clients, and particularly those of

5 | Our news

Become one of our champions

New supporter magazine availableThe first issue of Life Beyond Sight Loss, the official magazine of Blind Veterans UK, is out now.

The summer 2015 issue includes an interview with our new chief executive, Major General (Rtd) Nick Caplin CB; an update on our centenary celebrations; stories from the perspectives of a blind National

Service veteran and a blind Afghanistan veteran; as well as much more.

Life Beyond Sight Loss is a great way to stay up to date with all aspects of Blind Veterans UK.

To subscribe, please send your postal address to

caitlin.dunham@blindveterans.org.uk

Supporter communicationsWe’re keen to hear the best ways we can help you and make it as easy as possible for you to refer veterans to us. Whether that’s providing speakers for events, promotional materials for your waiting rooms, or just key messages for you to share with service users, please do let us know the best way for you.

We’d also like to know if you’d be interested in attending a conference in 2016 at one of our centres. Along with the opportunity to experience our life-changing facilities first hand, you’d also get to hear from our staff and veterans, and network with other people from the sector.

To find out more about referring to Blind Veterans UK,

please contact us at noonealone@blindveterans.org.uk

Without the support of frontline staff from sight loss and military organisations, we wouldn’t be reaching and helping a record number of blind and vision-impaired veterans.

National Service age, if they have served in the Armed Forces.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Maggie and every individual, group and organisation who directs veterans to the charity. This includes Action for Blind People, Fight for Sight, The Ripple Pond, Torch Trust, Stoll, Vista, British Association of Social Workers and Rehabilitation Workers Professional Network.

At our three centres, veterans have the opportunity to take part in arts and crafts training, in areas such as painting, sculpture, mosaics. Here, we speak to Nadia Wazera, arts and crafts instructor at our Llandudno centre, about the benefits of this popular training and what her role involves.

Can you describe your role at Blind Veterans UK?I teach a range of arts and crafts to veterans, helping them to learn new skills or revisit something they’ve done previously. Being creative can increase their confidence and support their wellbeing.

What have been the highlights of working for Blind Veterans UK?Seeing the department grow and go from strength to strength. This includes the recent opening of a wood workshop, something our veterans really enjoy making use of a welcoming two new members of staff to the team. The studio is thriving, it’s a warm, welcoming and inspiring environment. It’s somewhere our veterans can relax and enjoy one another’s company, and which is always filled with lots of laughter.

What are the main benefits for veterans who take part in the arts and crafts training?There are so many, and they really differ from veteran to veteran. In my opinion, some of the most remarkable outcomes happen when we bring veterans together. There’s a real sense of community and comradeship, and the veterans support and learn from

each other. It’s wonderful watching the friendships that often develop.

Would you recommend Blind Veterans UK to someone who may be eligible for our support? Absolutely. Blind Veterans UK can make such a difference. Whenever possible, I encourage those who may be eligible to get in touch.

What are the main changes you have seen at the Llandudno centre over the past year?The opening of the centenary sensory garden has been a huge success this year; our veterans really enjoy spending time there. Our veterans are also enjoying creating murals and artwork for the grounds from a variety of materials such as willow and wood.

Can you describe working at Blind Veterans UK in three words?Collaborative, inspiring and rewarding.

6 | How we help

An artistic triumph

“ Being creative can increase blind veterans’ confidence and support their wellbeing.”Nadia Wazera

7 | How we help

Equipping our veteransOne of the ways we help veterans rebuild their confidence and regain their independence is by providing specialist equipment for around the home and when they’re out and about.

In 2014-15, 74% of our veterans told us they have received

specialist equipment to help them adjust to life with sight loss. Equipment such as talking clocks and CCTV readers make it possible for veterans to do many things they thought they’d never be able to do again. They really do get a huge boost from doing everyday activities such as reading a letter or newspaper, surfing the internet or being able to make a cup of tea safely.

Blind Veterans UK has become a main charitable partner of Annington Limited, a specialist landlord that leases accommodation to the Ministry of Defence for Service personnel and their families throughout England and Wales.

The partnership involves Annington donating £75,000 over three years

to support the vital services we provide to blind and vision-impaired veterans. In addition, there is excellent potential for Blind Veterans UK and Annington to share expertise to benefit veterans further, especially as our headquarters and Annington’s are located near to each other in London.

One of the main initiatives Annington is supporting is our Life Skills for Independent Living project. It focuses on providing at-risk younger veterans

Building a strong partnership

with tailored programmes of counselling and training in new purpose-built accommodation. This is in response to recent research that revealed many of our younger veterans do experience debilitating mental health problems following sight loss.

Sharing expertiseVictoria Copeland, Blind Veterans UK’s corporate relationships and trading manager says: “This is an important strategic partnership. Annington will not only be able to provide significant finance but also be able to provide important expertise to our veterans, in the form of advice and support when it comes to housing matters.

“I expect the relationship to flourish over the next few years. We have already received £25,000 as part of the partnership and the Annington team have shown a strong interest in helping us develop our offerings to younger veterans.”

We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank many of the employees of Annington for their fantastic fundraising so far. And an additional big thank you to the company itself for matching all of the money raised by these employees. It’s greatly appreciated by the charity and our veterans.

“ This is an important strategic partnership.”

for everyday life

Talking watches

Some examples of the equipment we provide are:

Big button telephones

Talking clocks

IT accesssoftware

8 | Get involved

Upcoming No One Alone events

Our plans to pay tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in both world wars and subsequent conflicts are coming together for Remembrance Sunday on 8 November.

In front of the Royal Family and leading UK politicians, a record 196 blind and vision-impaired veterans will march alongside

thousands of current and ex-Service personnel to remember those who served with them. And, in another first this year, veterans will march on parade with their guide dogs.

Chief executive of Blind Veterans UK, Major General (Rtd) Nick Caplin CB, will also march as part of the charity’s contingent: “Remembrance is a really important time and provides our Blind Veterans UK community the opportunity to remember those we served with, as well as bringing together many current and ex-Service personnel.

For Blind Veterans UK, 2015 marks 100 years of providing support to blind and vision impaired ex-Service men and women, and so this particular Remembrance will be especially poignant for our contingent as we remember those who lost their lives in service.”

As well as hosting events on Remembrance Sunday, our No One Alone team has been busy organising events for the coming months.

For more information about any of these events, including how you can attend one, please email the team at noonealone@blindveterans.org.uk

A major presence on Remembrance Sunday

October

Thursday 8 RNIB Celebration Exhibition, Swansea

Tuesday 13 Macular Society Talk, St Albans

Thursday 15 Sight Cymru Exhibition, Newport

Friday 16 Open Sight Information Day, BasingstokeTuesday 20 – Wednesday 21 Visionary, EdinburghThursday 22 Chalfont Club Talk, Reading

Wednesday 28 Kent Association for the Blind Exhibition, Margate

November

Tuesday 3 QAC Sight Village, London

September

Thursday 24 Open Sight Eye Contact Exhibition, Southampton

Saturday 26 Macular Society Conference, London

Monday 28 VisionZone Exhibition, Leeds

Tuesday 29 Sight Village Exhibition, Manchester

Wednesday 30 East Suffolk Association for the Blind Exhibition, Felixstowe

Blind Veterans UK will also be hosting events at our centres in Sheffield, Brighton and Llandudno on Remembrance Sunday. To find out more, please visit our Twitter and Facebook pages for details.