It has been a little over two years since I started using technology for low vision. I wrote page after page about my “toys” and how they were making my life better. [Lin/Linda here: her last update about what she uses on a daily basis is Sue’s Toolkit – 2 Years Later.]
I remember one reader made a comment along the lines of this: I was wealthy and could afford to buy myself thousands of dollars of equipment. He wanted to know what I thought someone with few resources was supposed to do.
To begin with, I am not wealthy. I am a professional, and we are probably slightly above average for the middle class. Second point, except for replacements (a lot of technology does not bounce when it is dropped. More’s the pity!) and repairs, I have paid nothing for my equipment! That is nada, goose egg, a big, fat zero.
I have said it repeatedly: everything was purchased for me by the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services. They are a branch of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in Pennsylvania. And that can be a problem. I was young enough, loved my job and desperately wanted to go back to work. The agency was willing to pay several – probably more than several, actually – thousand dollars to keep me paying taxes and off of the disability rolls. [Check out Sue’s page Salvation: Vision Rehabilitation Revisited.]
Great for me. Not so great for those of us who are older, retired and have no capability or inclination to go back to work. Our state BBVS will pay, last I heard, about $600 for equipment and services for those people. That will buy maybe 1/6th of a CCTV. Now what?
First of all, I would suggest pursuing help from a state agency anyway. $600 is $600. Second point: I borrowed two CCTVs from our county library while mine was in the shop. The ones I borrowed were shoved in a corner and never used. A library card and a gratitude donation got me out of a fix. You may be able to make a similar deal.
Quite a while ago I ran a page on an assistive technology reseller. Some states have agency-run “swap meets.” Donate what you can no longer use and take what you need. Free. I think the best one I found was Massachusetts.
Sam of the Blind Life reported some of his clients found used technology at yard sales. He also suggested keeping an eye on eBay and in pawn shops. [Check out Sam’s video Why is Assistive Technology So Expensive?]
Other options? Enhanced Vision has a site that lists grant sources for assistive technology all across the country. Not only do they list many of the state-sponsored grants, but they also list several private organizations that will pay for part of the cost of the equipment. I will go to some of these sites and see what I find out.
…hmmmm, just had a thought. Enhanced Vision sells adaptive equipment. Yes? Yes. If you find something they sell that you really want and cannot afford, would they suggest a funding source? Just a thought. Somebody want to try?
Ok. Sue, Girl Detective, on the case. See what I can find…and whatever happened to Nancy Drew, anyway?
Written September 21, 2018