Visually Impaired Persons (VIP), a regional support group for the blind and visually impaired, celebrated its 22nd anniversary Tuesday, April 4 in a banquet room at St. Andrews Village. “This room is important to us because it’s where I met with parishioners from All Saints, Saint Columba’s and First United Methodist churches in late 2000 to create a support group for the blind in Lincoln County and beyond,” said Joan Stark, founder of the group.

Meetings are casual and welcoming. They are discussion-based sessions designed to facilitate sharing of personal stories, discuss solutions to challenges, provide information about resources and services for the visually impaired in Maine, and offer emotional support and comradery for those in the VIP community, including caretakers.

“It’s important that people don’t feel debilitated or have to give up their favorite hobbies,” said Stark. She recalled one meeting where they made paintings, an activity many thought they could not do, and folded them origami style into boxes to take home. Gardening is another favorite.

Every other meeting, VIP pulls in speakers of interest. In May, Irene Barber, horticultural therapist from Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG), will address the group about gardening. For the past eight years, VIP members have taken part in a 12-week gardening therapy program starting in June at CMBG.

The Iris Network was founded in 1905 to provide services and innovative devices the blind. At the September meeting, Dr. David Barnwell, president of the nonprofit, will speak to the group about adaptive tools and training, accessible technologies, and methods to attain independence so members can stay safe in their homes and communities.

“Going to the Iris Network building in Portland is an excellent experience. You can test-drive the various technologies and learn what works for you,” said Stark.

Many members of VIP use CCTVs, white (probing) canes, Zoom text-to-speech, and Talking Books. Mollie and Wells Moore have attended the meetings for over 20 years. They organized weekly readings of the Boothbay Register newspaper onto cartridges that can be used by the Talking Books machine, allowing the visually impaired to stay current on local news. “It’s the jewel of the program,” said Stark. Volunteers read the articles and describe the photos.

“If you’ve lost your vision or are in the process of losing it, please know that there are people in the community who have had the same experience and can be there to support you,” said Stark. VIP encourages all people affected by impaired vision to attend their meetings, held on the first Tuesday of each month, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Community Center. For more information, contact Stark at 633-2498 or Moore at 633-3810.  

“Because of this group, I’ve got the courage to talk to people outside of this group about my vision loss,” said longtime member Elethe Donaldson.