IMPACT - A Lasting Impression (the findings)

WHAT WE DID

We wanted to know what services and support the visually impaired people of Nottinghamshire wanted from us. The best way to do this was to ask visually impaired people themselves.

We developed a number of methods to get people involved and encourage them to have their say:

• We sent out over 6000 questionnaire cards to visually impaired people across the whole of the county. The cards asked people to tell us what themes were important or of particular interest to them.
• 140 people joined in with our Roadshow of enjoyable activities and discussions relevant to their interests
• A user Involvement group was set up, who were vital to informing and developing the consultation project, including coming up with ideas for our services
• We talked to a number of people over the telephone, asking them about their preferred social activities and what support they needed.
• We also sought the opinion of children and parents regarding the services most relevant to them.
• NRSB front line staff, who work daily with visually impaired people, were key in identifying common themes of need.
• NRSB had key involvement in the Visual Impairment Network for Counselling and Emotional Support. The network was established to link professionals, counsellors, visually impaired people and local charities. The network works to share knowledge, best practice and develop and influence emotional support services.
• We were made to feel very welcome when we visited Cardiff Institute for the Blind, South Lincolnshire Society, Surrey Association for the Blind to talk about what works best for them
• Nottingham Blind Alliance, National Federation for the Blind and the Macular Disease Society kindly invited us to their meetings and gave their support to the IMPACT project.

WHAT YOU SAID

We asked you what themes or services were of interest to you. The figures below show the particular themes given and the number of people who chose each option (bear in mind that many people chose more than one option).

Responses from the IMPACT Questionnaire mail out were:
Social Activities 359
Sport 134
Education 104
Emotional Support 92
Transport 189
Computers 151
Other 42

HERE ARE THE VIEWS

The feedback from the user group, IMPACT roadshows and discussions with local organisations told us that many people wanted:

More opportunities to socialise
Opportunities to gain skills or follow a hobby
Emotional support, through professional counselling or by meeting with other visually impaired people.
Empowerment through opportunities to be involved in decision making
Information and guidance
More opportunities to access sport and improve health and fitness.

Quotes taken during the roadshows were:

"Its good to talk to people who know what i'm going through"

"It was good to give my opinion"

"The worst thing you can do is shut yourself away"

"You don't have to be sighted to do the things you enjoy"

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO NEXT

Now that we have fully considered the views and suggestions received from IMPACT, we are in a position to begin to move NRSB towards empowering visually impaired people and offering more services with an immediate launch of:

Social Activities
We are in the process of developing a calender of events to include day trips, evening socials and regular activity roadshows across Nottinghamshire.

Counselling and Peer Group Support
We will be launching a counselling/emotional support service along with the provision of self help groups.

'Of the Blind' Campaign
We are committed to becoming an organisation 'of the blind' rather than 'for the blind'. Therefore we will continue to build our service user involvement group and will be seeking to increase the number of visually impaired trustees on the NRSB committee.

We will also continue to consult and involve visually impaired people in decision making processes. The opinion and input of visually impaired people will be used to develop milestones needed for NRSB to meet before truly becoming an organisation 'of the blind.'

Later on this year we will also be launching:

Computer Technology support to include services within your own home with your own computer and software.

Sports and Health service which will offer a range of activities for all ages and abilities.

THANKS TO

We would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who took part in our events, answered our questionnaires or replies to the IMPACT card.

We would also like to thank the members of the IMPACT steering group, the NRSB user involvement group (past and present), City Arts, Thrive, British Blind Sports, EyeT4All, the artists and tutors involved in the roadshow events, the local forums and visually impaired self help groups.

Special thanks to Nottingham City TVI and Nottinghamshire County DVIT for distributing IMPACT information on our behalf.