In Your Shoes - Laura Ritchie

Monday

I work flexible working hours to balance the chaos of being a mum to two boys, aged nine and six. If it’s my working day, Monday morning is usually spent catching up with emails and dealing with any tasks that need attention.

On Monday afternoons, people looking for support with their sight and/or deafness can meet with one of our expert staff. These duty opening times are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 2pm-4pm.

We have a range of equipment on display here, and are available to give advice, guidance and take referrals for more intensive support. Our social worker Margaret is also busy with appointments all afternoon, helping clients with a variety of issues including benefits and housing.

Tuesday

Louise, our admin and resource worker, is busy processing all of the Certificates of Visual Impairment that we have received as part of our management of Dundee’s Sight Loss Register. We are notified by the eye clinic of any clients registered as Sight Impaired or Severely Sight Impaired, and we offer an assessment to each of them to ensure they can remain as independent as possible.

Our employment officer Janice is based in the resource centre on a Tuesday, and has appointments with clients who require advice and guidance on employment issues or getting into education or training. People who are visually impaired, Deaf or living with hearing loss face particular barriers getting into and maintaining work.

Other staff are in and out of the resource centre all day today, as well as seeing clients in their own homes, completing assessments of need and creating personalised action plans.

Wednesday

I started the day today supporting a Deaf client with an appointment at the JobCentre. Accessing these appointments is a challenge for Deaf BSL users who are unable to deal with issues over the phone. A large part of our role is advocating for the needs of deaf and visually impaired people to reduce the barriers they face.

In the afternoon, our fieldwork assistant Audrey is in the office, and spends her time screening information in the Certificates of Visual Impairment, and contacting clients for extra information to ensure we can prioritise the most vulnerable.

Our Young People’s Sensory Service (YPSS) co-ordinator Diana is also in the office, organising the activities and regular clubs that she runs for young people with sensory impairment. Our YPSS service provides a wide variety of fun and challenging

experiences to children and young people with sensory loss, supporting them to develop self-confidence and life skills, as well as creating a network of peers who are supportive of each other.

Thursday

This morning I attended a regular drop-in at the Sight Support and Social Hub, providing social work advice to its members. NESS works closely with this local charity, supporting our clients to attend and socialise. I joined in with this morning’s line dancing class and spent time chatting with the members.

I took two referrals from individuals with sight loss who need assistance with concessions they are entitled to due to their sight loss registration. When I arrived back at the resource centre, our ICT worker Kevin is already here. Our ICT service provides advice, support and training about technology available that can make life a little bit easier for people living with sight and/or hearing loss.

Kevin is running sessions all day for people to trial Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and has had a huge amount of interest. They look like Ray-Ban sunglasses, but include technology that helps visually impaired people engage and connect with their immediate environment, as well as read.

Friday

I spend Friday morning checking over cases that are waiting to be allocated. We currently have a long waiting list for our service, and it is important that I am aware of what work needs doing. I allocate each of the staff two new clients.

On Friday afternoon, I am on duty in the resource centre. A client with sight loss drops in for support, as he finds it difficult to read letters. He brings in a letter from his utility company asking for extra information regarding his account, and I support him as he calls them and sorts it out.

Another client who wears two hearing aids drops in shortly afterwards. He is finding it difficult to hear the TV, so I take his information and discuss the possible support we can offer. After that, I’m off home after a busy week, to enjoy the weekend with my family.