To Kansans without visual impairment, the Kansas Rehabilitation Center for the Blind (RCB) may be the best kept secret in the state. But to hundreds of Kansans born blind or who have lost their sight or become visually impaired, the agency has been their lifeline. Especially those whose vision loss was sudden.

Now preparing to move to a new location from offices at 6^th and MacVicar in Topeka where the center has been for more than 50 years, instructors and administrators with RCB hope to increase the availability of services and make Kansans more aware of what they can offer. Bids for a new location for the Kansas Division of Services to the Blind (DSB), which includes RCB, are due March 28.

At RCB, persons who have lost or are losing their sight not only receive needed training on life skills, they also receive the support and counseling to move forward in a "visual world", as one former RCB client said.

Gene Koons, a preacher with the Winchester Church of Christ in Winchester, is a true believer in RCB. A little over a year ago, Rev. Koons, 44, was both physically and emotionally lost as his vision gradually failed due to diabetes. Then a vocational rehabilitation counselor suggested he go through an eight-week session at RCB.

"I couldn’t see, I couldn’t write, I couldn’t study, and my confidence in moving around was terrible," Rev. Koons said. "I stared at the ground when I walked, but I still tripped and fell a lot. I really didn’t know any way to get going...I was in a bad way."

And today?

"I can study and preach," he said. "I have a Bible program on computer, and I use a Braille light. I can do about anything I need to do. They gave me confidence. I wouldn’t be a preacher today without the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind. I really don’t know where I’d be."

RCB is the only rehabilitation facility in Kansas that provides comprehensive services

tailored to meet the needs of persons who are blind or visually impaired. Services are provided through two basic programs, Independent Living Skills Training and Vocational Evaluation and Training.

Through the Independent Living Skills Program, training is provided to assist clients in developing skills for independent living in their homes and communities. The Vocational Evaluation and Training Program provides employment-related assessments, evaluation, and training. Specialized training is offered in computer literacy, resume writing, interviewing, and job seeking skills.

DSB has a Business Enterprise Program under which persons who are blind or visually impaired operate cafeterias, snack bars, or vending machine operations. RCB runs a Career Assessment Program, which is a summer session for persons who are blind or visually impaired and planning to enter some type of post-secondary education.

And during the Seniors Program, which is actually held several times a year, older Kansans go through a two week program which gives them training on orientation and mobility skills, personal adjustment counseling, medical management, independent living skills, and computer training.

To Sylvia Pack of Chanute, the Seniors Program was just what she needed to cope with degenerating eyesight. She mentioned much-needed training she received on cooking, house cleaning, getting around, check writing, and even sewing.

"It’s one of the first times I’ve found out where some of our tax dollars are going, and I’m thrilled to death," she said.

Since she took two weeks of Seniors Program training last summer, Mrs. Pack said she has helped organize a support group of people in Chanute who are blind or visually impaired. She said the group uses materials and training gained from RCB to help others overcome their visual shortcomings. The support group began with five members, but now is up to 25 members.

RCB also runs the Kansas Seniors Achieving Independent Living, or Kan-SAIL. The program provides services to increase the independent living skills for older persons experiencing severe vision impairment or blindness. This program, which includes home visits, is for persons 55 years of age or older.

For persons newly blind, RCB is set up to move them gradually toward more independence. They may begin the program living in a dormitory setting. Then, as they learn to navigate more easily, they move into a house near the center, and finally to apartments on the other side of town. Housing options are included in the RFP for the new site.

Jean Williamson, the RCB administrator who has been with the agency since 1988, said although their focus is on training programs, they do not overlook the emotional issues that sometimes come with vision loss and blindness. They have two counselors on site and run group counseling sessions where people can hear from and talk with others in the same situation.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001