VE Day 80: After the Darkness

Our rehabilitation team will assess all blind veterans continuously and help those who need it to manage their daily routines.

Tactical markers placed at strategic points help them to use their kitchen appliances -  like marking the temperature dial on a cooker.

In addition to this, our volunteers play a vital role in helping our veterans maintain their independence. This is because isolation is a common problem for people with sight loss and hearing a friendly voice can make all the difference to their wellbeing. 

We introduce our blind veterans to assistive technology that makes their lives easier. We provide as much training and troubleshooting support as the individual needs.

The rehabilitation officers will identify the best low vision aids for reading tasks, like a portable scanner. This is often a priority as it enables veterans to continue their day-to-day tasks such as reading the post and following cooking instructions.

Second World War veteran Neena loves her digital scanner - it reads any text out loud to her. She says, "I haven't had to pay a penny towards it and and I don't know what I'd do without that, that's a great boon. Very useful."

While our specialist equipment can make all the difference day-to-day, we find that keeping morale up can be just as important, particularly for older veterans less able to venture out.

Our staff connect isolated, lonely members him to other veterans through our telephone groups. One says, it keeps him in touch with the outside world.

One Community Support Worker feels emotional about the impact she has. She says:

"Knowing that the veterans don't feel lonely anymore is wonderful. The change can be tremendous." 

Even if our blind veterans are in care homes, we will continue to visit them to make sure they are well looked after. Often we find that their carers have never cared for someone with sight loss, so we might step in and give them tips, such as making sure they introduce themselves clearly and explain where things have been left, such as meals and drinks. 

One issue our Community Support Workers come across when working with blind veterans is how quickly sight loss can make them self-conscious around food.

The veterans can feel embarrassed when food drops off the fork or spoon, or when they put the fork to their mouth with nothing on it. They might stop going out to restaurants and cafés.

Our staff encourage them to continue living their life and help them to feel more secure with simple tips such as, for example, choosing finger food which is easier to control.

They also show veterans' families how to help them identify what is on the plate by using a clock face analogy: 12 o’clock chicken, 3 o’clock peas, 6 o’clock mashed potato, 9 o’clock carrots. Also, putting food onto a slightly lipped plate means food can be scooped up more easily.

By following simple tips like these, our team make sure blind veterans don't miss out on social activities and can still enjoy their meals, wherever they are.