OAB offers local, personal and individually-tailored support to anyone in Oxfordshire who is blind or visually impaired. Three of our staff are themselves visually impaired and have lived experience of the needs we try to meet. We have a purpose-built resource centre in Oxford and organise social and sporting activities around the county. We visit people in their own homes and have both counselling and telephone befriending services, as well as special activities for children and their families. For the community, we provide training enabling local businesses and charities to make their offer more accessible to people who have lost their sight.
We provide care, advice, equipment and training so that visually impaired people don’t become isolated from their community, with all the implications that has for their mental and physical health.
We send out a regular newsletter (quarterly) to keep people informed of our many activities and to invite them to visit our resource centre, ring our helpline, join one of our social groups for coffee or lunch, or ask for counselling or a home visit. We keep in touch with our most vulnerable members and with young families by telephone or online platforms. We try to provide what each individual needs, rather than expecting one size to fit all.
