Our impact
Here at Blind Veterans UK, we’ve been rebuilding veterans’ lives after sight loss for 110 years.
When veterans lose their sight, their world is turned upside-down. Passions and hobbies suddenly seem impossible and even simple day-to-day activities like making a cup of tea become a challenge.
On top of that, it can also be an isolating and lonely experience.
At Blind Veterans UK we provide the rehabilitation, training, practical advice, and emotional support to ensure veterans can learn the skills they need to regain their independence and live the life they choose.
Thanks to the incredible supporters who fund our work, we’re able to have such a life-changing, long-lasting, and meaningful impact on veterans’ lives.
This page is testament to what we can achieve together.
Blind veterans’ needs are at the heart of everything we do. We are always looking to adapt our services to ensure blind veterans continue to receive our support exactly where they need it. Whether in their community, at a centre or virtually, we’re here to support them in the most effective way possible.
All statistics on this page relate to the financial year 2023/2024.
total income
total expenditure
of every £1 donated is spent on charitable activities, with the remaining 15p going towards raising the next £1
Rehabilitation & training
Rehabilitation is key in helping our veterans adjust to life with sight loss. We give them the training they need to live independently and navigate their environment with confidence, meaning they can stay safe at home and in their community, and in touch with loved ones.
Making the most of limited sight
Sight loss presents itself in many different ways and our blind veterans often have some limited sight available to them. As experts in sight loss rehabilitation, we show veterans how to make the most of the sight they have with simple skills and strategies, and training on specialist equipment.
blind veterans where supported via telephone or online through our beneficiary support hub.
blind veterans were referred to our rehabilitation services.
blind veterans received support from us as and when needed all over the UK.
Learning to navigate independently
Doug, 84, lost his sight in 2023 and his wife died later that year. He became dependent on carers visiting four times a day to feed him and administer his medication.
He didn't want to be reliant on others so we offered Doug rehabilitation training to gain independent living skills. Our Rehabilitation Officer (ROVI) Jason, initially helped Doug within his own home to cook his own meals, do his washing, take his own medication and read his own mail. Jason says:
"Doug is an extremely motivated, logical and determined man who wanted to succeed and find methods that worked for him. Every time I visited Doug he would show me something new he'd achieved."
Now independent in his home, Doug was keen to move his training outside. The pair began long cane training, starting out in a local park to master walking in a straight line and the arc width (Extending the cane to an even distance on both sides of your body to check for obstacles.)
Slowly building up skills they eventually took what they learnt into the town centre. Doug says:
"Because of the support from Blind Veterans UK, I can now get a taxi into town and wonder around on my own. I'm good at visualising things and I use my other senses to help place my location such as the smell of the bakery. I'm happy with what I've achieved and I no longer have carers to my home; I'm fully independent."
Using technology
We’ve embraced technology since our foundation, and it continues to have an increasingly positive and transformative impact on the lives of our blind veterans. From simple devices like a liquid level indicator which beeps when a mug of tea is full, to smart speakers which give blind veterans access to the internet with their voice, training veterans on technology is a key part of our rehabilitation service. We teamed up with Microsoft to show how we've used Teams to support our veterans and keep them connected.
blind veterans were referred for training on assistive technology
Reconnecting family with technology
After Eddie lost his sight, his world fell apart. Living over 100 miles from his son and grandchildren, they would keep in touch through a weekly video call on his tablet. But as Eddie lost his sight, he lost his confidence too, and decided to give the tablet away.
Luckily Eddie joined our charity, and as part of his introductory week, received an IT session on how to use the adaptive technology on his phone and tablet to make video calls to his son and grandchildren.
Tears streamed down Eddie’s face as he was able to video call for the first time since he lost his sight and at the end of his introductory week, he said: “This week has been amazing. I feel that I’m slowly gaining confidence and can see a way forward. Life is getting better now!”
Health & wellbeing
When veterans lose their sight, they often describe their world as ‘coming to a halt’. On top of this, the isolation that comes with age, is only exacerbated by sight loss, and can make things hard to bear.
So as well as supporting blind veterans to overcome physical challenges, we also help them improve their general health and mental wellbeing.
By finding ways for them to rediscover their passions, connect with others, and consider their general health, we can have a hugely positive impact on their lives.
Rediscovering passions
After losing their sight, blind veterans will sometimes give up on their hobbies and interests because they feel like they can’t do them anymore. We’re here to show them, that with just a few adaptations, they can be back and enjoying their passions just like they were before they lost their sight.
local activities and events for beneficiaries were ran across communities - of these, 702 were conducted face to face and 388 were virtual.
community engagement events and 6 regional beneficiary groups ran across the UK.
New ways to woodturn
Royal Artillery veteran Bill has a passion for woodturning and had been pursuing his hobby for over 40 years. But after losing his sight, he felt unable to woodturn anymore and gave up on his craft.
However, after joining our charity, he attended a woodturning week at our Centre of Wellbeing in Llandudno where he learnt new techniques to make the most of his limited vision and learn to woodturn again.
Since then Bill’s woodturning has come on leaps and bounds and he even hosts online sessions to teach other blind veterans the skills he’s picked up along the way. He says: “I am where I am because of the staff, veterans and volunteers at the charity. I remember being told during my introductory week that there’s no such thing as can’t and that it’s important to focus on what you can do. I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the veterans smile when they’ve made something new.”
Overcoming isolation
It’s a sad fact that many of the blind veterans we support suffer from social isolation. It happens as we get older and our families leave us, and partners pass away. For people with sight loss, that isolation is all the more painful to bear.
That’s why we run social groups up and down the country for blind veterans to get together with others in the same position as themselves. And our volunteers provide a crucial lifeline through befriending support and helping blind veterans in their local community.
home visits carried out by our equipment recycling service, collecting 1,028 items of equipment. 614 of these items were recycled and reissued.
beneficiaries attended 14 military events across the country.
National Creative Wellbeing Programme packs issued to help our beneficiaries reconnect or discover the benefits of creativity.
Befriending in the community
Mia is one of our Home Visitor volunteers, matched up with blind veteran Maurice. Her weekly visits provide the crucial companionship that Maurice needs. Shortly after being matched together, the pair discovered a shared interest in model making, which forms the basis of many of their get togethers.
And when they’re not doing crafts together, Mia will read a book to Maurice, they’ll have a coffee at the garden centre, or they’ll take a stroll down to the seafront for a fish and chip lunch. In just one year, Mia and Maurice have developed an unbreakable bond.
Maurice says: “I love spending time together with Mia, it’s my favourite time of the week. It’s like watching an angel come down from heaven when she comes to see me. It makes my day. I know she’d do anything for me, I really appreciate her."
Living well
We offer blind veterans' advice on how to improve their general health and emotional wellbeing, with tips and programmes on areas including: general physical and mental health, mindfulness, sleep hygiene and healthy eating.
completed vision-impairment training with our team of specialists
the satisfaction score given to us by blind veterans, classifying our services as ‘World Class’
blind veterans were referred to health and wellbeing support
Maintaining veterans' health
Tony lost his sight due to diabetic retinopathy and before he discovered our charity he hadn't left the house for five months.
With the support and rehabilitation offered by the charity his mindset has changed and he is now passionate about his independence and being physically active. He says:
"I was really deflated before I found the charity, I wasn't sure what my life would look like but I've recently travelled around Wales on public buses with a friend as my guide.
"I wanted to show what a blind person can do and how, with rehabilitation from the charity, I've been able to get my independence back. I recently had my toes amputated and Blind Veterans UK once again got me out walking.
"With my new found confidence, I'm excited to be planning solo bus trips and no longer having to rely on others."
Our volunteers
Our amazing volunteers are absolutely essential in maintaining our veterans’ wellbeing. From providing crucial companionship to helping blind veterans get around their community, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them.
volunteering hours were donated by our fantastic volunteers to support blind veterans in need.
amazing volunteers supporting our blind veterans.
new volunteers who joined us in the last year.
Our award-winning volunteer service
Our befriending service has received the top honour of ‘Quality in Befriending Excellence’, as judged by Befriending Networks.
It is testament to the hard work of both our incredible volunteers and dedicated volunteering team, that we are one of only 11 organisations to have achieved this award in the UK. The award acknowledges the significant difference our volunteer support provides to our blind veterans and highlights the quality of our volunteering service.
Angus Maclean, Quality Officer at Befriending Networks, says: “Blind Veterans UK’s policies and procedures are top-class, and their investment in focused training for both volunteers and staff is very impressive. Well done to the team at Blind Veterans UK for achieving fantastic outcomes for both blind veterans and volunteers.”
Giving back
Our blind veterans are often so appreciative of the support that we've given them to rebuild their lives, that they choose to give back to our charity by raising vital funds or volunteering to support other blind veterans in need. These projects also play a role in rehabilitation, giving veterans a goal, sense of purpose, and something to work towards.
Former paratrooper's final parachute jump to give back
Danny, a blind veteran and former paratrooper, made his first parachute jump as a 17-year-old soldier. Seventy years later, at 88 and living with sight loss, he took to the skies one last time to thank the charity that helped him regain his independence.
Losing his sight to macular degeneration left Danny struggling with daily life. “When I first lost my sight, it felt like there was nothing left that I could do,” he says. With no family to turn to, he and his wife Carol felt isolated. “We didn’t know what to do,” Carol recalls. But after discovering Blind Veterans UK, everything changed. “Within two weeks we had a home visit from a support worker, we’ve never looked back.”
Danny completed his final parachute jump at 13,000 feet, raising £2,700 to support other blind veterans. “I wanted to do something to help another person who is going through what we went through,” he says.
"Getting in touch with the charity is the best thing I’ve ever done which is why I wanted to do something to give back."
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