LIGHTHOUSE GUILD INTERNATIONAL INC

Lighthouse Guild is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing exceptional services to individuals with vision loss through coordinated vision and health care, rehabilitation, education and training, and other support to inspire them to attain their goals. We do this by delivering clear guidance, coordinated services, and a community of support. With Lighthouse Guild, people who are at risk for or affected by vision loss have access to the resources necessary to lead full, independent, and productive lives.

Each year, people of all ages with vision loss, including those with multiple disabilities and/or chronic medical conditions, turn to Lighthouse Guild for help, hope, and resources. The vast majority of our clients come from low-income and ethnically diverse backgrounds, are medically underserved, and may require services that are not covered by health insurance but do not have the means to pay for them. We provide services to thousands of people of all ages in-person in the five boroughs of NYC, and in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the Albany area through our Adult Day Health Care (GuildCare) program which provides medical support and care for individuals with vision loss and physical or mental impairments. We also run community outreach programs, Tele-Support Network, website, vision loss education and training for healthcare professionals/para-professionals and a Research Institute designed to translate scientific and technological advances into useful solutions.

Our goal is to empower and support 3,800 and 4,200 each year through our health clinic, behavioral health work, rehabilitation, GuildCare, and tele-support. We also reach thousands more through professional education, outreach activities (with education about vision health), and podcasts/presentations.

Through our Health Center, people who are visually impaired can access medical care, diabetes education and management, and low vision optometry specialists who diagnose eye conditions and provide low vision intervention. We also provide specialized behavioral health services for people with vision loss. Our team of behavioral health specialists, including clinical social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, provide individual and group psychotherapy services for patients with anxiety, depression and other behavioral health needs resulting from their vision impairment.

Lighthouse Guild uniquely combines this care with rehabilitation and other skill-building and educational programs to address challenges related to vision impairment and to improve our clients’ ability to achieve their goals. Rehabilitation support includes assistive technology and training; vocational rehabilitation and independent living skills training; and preparation for careers and college; and youth programs designed to empower young people who are visually impaired.

Finally, Lighthouse Guild is now embarking on a major initiative to build the most advanced Technology Center in the United States offering evaluation and training on assistive devices, innovation and research. We are coalescing a community of innovators and end users to advance the development of new technologies to enhance the capabilities and independence of people who are blind and visually impaired.

Lighthouse Guild is a leader in services for blind and visually impaired individuals regionally and nationally. We uniquely provide both behavioral health and healthcare services, and Lighthouse Guild’s GuildCare is the only adult day health care program specialized in working with visually impaired people, and we are also the only provider of academic and high school equivalency training for people with visual impairments. As a result of our breadth of services while specializing in vision, we are uniquely qualified to treat the whole person. In addition, Lighthouse Guild is an emerging leader in assistive technology for people with visual impairments, from our 25-year history of technology training in vocational rehabilitation to our podcast exploring the possibilities of technology to improve the lives of people with blindness.

To date, Lighthouse Guild Health Clinic has received recognition from the NCQA New York State Patient-Centered Medical Home and the NCQA Diabetes Recognition Program. Lighthouse Guild was recognized by the City of New York for outstanding efforts to promote volunteerism and engage New York through service in 2018. Our CEO, Dr. Calvin Roberts, was recently named on Crain’s List of 2021 Notable Healthcare Leaders. Cheryl Pemberton-Graves, Chief Volunteer Officer, received a community service award from the Williamsbridge NAACP Early Childhood Education Center in 2019. Leaders in our organization, including Dr. Roberts, Dr. William Seiple, and Dr. Andrea Zimmerman, are frequently invited to speak and publish articles on topics including eye health, ophthalmology, technology and emerging vision research. Dr. Seiple in particular holds many distinctions and board and faculty positions, including Research Professor of Ophthalmology, New York University School of Medicine; Invited Scholar, École des Neurosciences de Paris, France and Chair of the Visual Neuroscience Program Committee, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Over the last year, we have adapted our services to deepen our telehealth and tele-support programs, building the infrastructure to expand our reach. The core services of Lighthouse Guild, providing critical skills and healthcare, are still at the heart of our work and have evolved to meet our clients where they are – with in-person and virtual options. Three recent highlights include:

• The Remote Care Network is a particular highlight, increasing services available to clients who cannot receive services in person due to the pandemic, mobility challenges, or geographic distance. Our Tele-Support Network started over ten years ago, is designed to help people of all ages and their families cope with vision loss by providing support programs and resources. Lighthouse Guild offers a range of support groups for parents of children with visual impairment, for teens, young adults, and older adults. Our Tele-Support Network currently has enrolled 550+ parents, teens, young adults, and adults from 42 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and South America.

Looking forward, Lighthouse Guild is embarking on a major initiative to build the most advanced Technology Center in the US offering training on assistive tech and driving future innovation. With low vision expertise and almost three decades of adaptive tech experience, we are bringing together a community of developers, entrepreneurs, academics, physicians, and (critically) end users to develop and share new technologies enhancing the capabilities and independence of people who are visually impaired.

The Center will have a vast array of assistive technology, personalized training focused on individuals’ skills and goals, plus a “smart home” where patients can test tech in settings such as an office or kitchen. For people with vision loss, there is an urgent need for this technology combined with expert training.

We believe that, with personalized training, technology can have a profound impact on people’s lives. Adaptive devices which change lives range from simple magnifiers to wearable options like the OrCam which converts text to speech, identifies objects like currency, and recognizes faces. There are innovations around mobility for individuals (like the WeWalk “smart” cane) and for navigating the broader world (like NaviLens which provides essential guidance in easy-to-read QR codes).

All of these new innovations are only as effective as the preparation and support that goes with them. In the new Technology Center, Lighthouse Guild experts will provide assessments to determine clients’ visual capacity, lifestyle needs, personal goals, and comfort with technology. And our experienced adaptive technology specialists and occupational therapists will provide essential training and opportunities to learn with the technology itself.