by Jerry Annunzio
As I toured the Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) I asked our guide, Jeanie Miller, who is a student there, “In one word, what does IDB do for the people who get training here?” Her answer was “independence.”
“You learn to be independent,” Miller went on. “The freedom to be independent at your job, in your community and in your own home, that’s the central theme at IDB.”
The American Council of the Blind’s national convention, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa from June 30 through July 7, will offer eight tours to the Iowa Department for the Blind. The IDB has many interesting stories to hear and lessons to learn. The vocational rehabilitation program which is administered and conducted at IDB is designed to help people who are blind achieve self-support. The independent living rehab program, which focuses on older blind people and on people who have multiple disabilities, helps consumers to live more independently in their homes and to function within their communities.
The IDB also administers Iowa’s Business Enterprises Program, which allows people who are blind to become self-sufficient, independent, tax-paying citizens through the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program.
IDB houses the state library services for the blind. These services include providing books and magazines in braille, large print, and recorded formats as well as descriptive videotapes. There are reference and reading rooms available at the Department Library.
Be sure to stop by the wood shop and the aids and devices store at IDB before you end your tour. You will see how IDB helps people who are blind and visually impaired obtain access to jobs and opportunities, and full participation as citizens in whatever roles they may choose. And that’s independence!