Winter 2005

George Jacobson, President, Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind

As you know, the Seattle Lighthouse exists in order to create opportunities for blind people to live independent and self-sufficient lives. In order to fulfill this mission we have created partnerships with literally thousands of people in the larger community, some of which include:

• Donors who make financial gifts, funding essential training programs and paying for specialized computer equipment for blind employees
• Customers purchasing the high quality products manufactured at the Lighthouse
• Vendors and suppliers helping make us an efficient business
• Members of the media telling the public about the capabilities of blind people to excel in all walks of life
• Federal, state, and local elected officials and their staff members identifying sources of funds and insuring that rules and regulations create an environment where blind people can lead self-sufficient lives

So, the Lighthouse serves as a focal point, bringing together the efforts of all of these thousands of individuals in fulfilling our mission of creating opportunities for blind people to live independently.

What exactly do we mean by independence for people who are blind?
We mean nothing more or less than the independence enjoyed in our country by people who live without major disabilities.

Let’s take travel as an example.

Most of us take for granted that we are free to decide when and where to travel, whether down the street to the supermarket to pick up a loaf of bread, or halfway around the world for a family vacation. At the Seattle Lighthouse we strive to create opportunities for blind and Deaf-Blind people to enjoy these same freedoms.

In either example, whether buying bread or booking tickets to Tahiti, a person needs some financial resources at hand. For most of us this means having a job. Since 70 percent of blind adults in this country do not have jobs, the Seattle Lighthouse focuses on creating high quality employment opportunities for blind people. In our minds, the first step on the road to independence is a steady paycheck.

The next step involves gaining the skills necessary to carry out the activities of daily life. A sighted person in the United States typically learns to drive as a young person and thinks nothing of hopping into the car for a quick trip to the store. A blind or Deaf-Blind person on the other hand must acquire a different set of skills, called “orientation and mobility,” to accomplish the same task. They learn the techniques and methods to travel independently with a white cane or guide dog, generally using public transportation, to travel as independently as their sighted neighbors. Orientation and mobility are key independent living skills that we focus on here at the Lighthouse.

Another set of skills we find essential to creating opportunities for independence centers around computer technology. From simply checking the bus schedule to making hotel reservations or choosing an airline, technology allows a blind person to operate just as efficiently as a sighted person.

Again, this requires some special training and equipment. Blind and Deaf-Blind people can use special screen magnification software, speech synthesizers, or Braille displays to operate computers. We at the Seattle Lighthouse are fully committed to providing the blind and Deaf-Blind people we serve with the incredible opportunities today’s technology brings.

I hope these few examples will give you some idea of how we go about fulfilling our mission of creating opportunities for independence. The articles in this issue of Horizons will give you more information and personal stories of independent living.

At the Seattle Lighthouse, with the help of committed members of our community, we provide the jobs, specialized training, and equipment necessary for blind people to go through each day in essentially the same way as their nondisabled fellow citizens.
Making choices. Getting things done. Living independently.

To all of you who have joined us in these endeavors, I thank you.

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