Renfrewshire Visually Impaired Forum

10/10/2026

Shopmobility Renfrewshire is super proud to be supporting Renfrewshire Visually Impaired Forum.

Look what the Forum have achieved within 6 months !

They are incredibly proud to announce security of dedicated space at the Beechwood Community Centre to anchor business operations for the next two years.

This milestone was made possible through the generous support of Lottery Funding.

With this new space locked in, their team is shifting into high gear.

Top priorities over the next two years are:

• Growing membership base and social activities
• Expanding services to better serve the community

🙏 A Special Thank You quoted Nicola MacNeil, Chair, Renfrewshire Visually Impaired Forum:

"We want to extend our deepest gratitude to Chinedu and Kingsley who manage My Community My Space at the Beechwood Community Centre. We truly cannot thank them enough for their invaluable support, dedication, and guidance in helping us secure both this amazing space and the ongoing support at the centre.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey—we can't wait to welcome you to our new home!"


ShopMobilityUK
Renfrewshire Visually Impaired Forum
Renfrewshire News
Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership

07/10/2026

07/10/2026

I thought losing my vision would take everything from me. I never expected it would give me so much.

When I was first told I was going blind, I was not on a path that was serving me. I was an angry kid, a teenager making choices that were not leading anywhere good. That diagnosis became a turning point, not overnight, not easily, but it shifted something in me. It forced me to look at life differently, and slowly, it led me toward something better.

Today, I can honestly say that vision loss shaped me into the person I am, and the work I now do through Diverse Abilities Programs exists because of it.

It taught me how to be intentional. I am more organized than I have ever been, placing things with purpose so I can find and identify them easily. What started as a necessity became a strength.

It changed how I see people. I no longer judge based on appearance or what someone has. What matters to me is how we treat each other. That is what I notice, that is what I remember.

It deepened my relationships. I am the friend who does not care about messy hair, no makeup, or a cluttered house. I am there to be with you, not to look at you. I listen more closely now, my attention is not pulled away by what is happening around me, and that has made me a better friend, a better partner, and a better human.

Connection feels different too. Hugs are fuller, more intentional. Physical touch matters more because it is one of the ways I connect to the world. It has strengthened my marriage and the relationships I value most.

Losing my sight also taught me how to use my voice. I learned to advocate for what works for me, and to help others understand that doing something differently does not mean doing it less.

It brought incredible people into my life. Many of my closest friends are people who are blind or have low vision, people I would never have met otherwise. They inspire me daily and remind me that there is always a way forward, even if it looks different than expected.

It pushed me to think outside the box and become a problem solver in ways I never would have before. That way of thinking is now at the core of everything I teach.

If I did not live with a disability, I would not be the advocate I am today. Inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and language guide my work because I have lived the impact of getting it wrong and the power of getting it right.

Accessibility matters to me because I have experienced barriers, and I know that when we remove them, we create spaces that work better for everyone.

Even something as simple as my white cane has shifted how I move through the world. It is like the parting of the sea, people naturally make space, and navigating crowds has become easier.

My other senses have sharpened. I notice things differently now, in ways I never did before. There is a different kind of beauty in experiencing the world this way.

Vision loss did not take my life away, it gave it direction. It gave me purpose, community, and a deeper understanding of what truly matters.

This is the perspective I bring into every aDAPT training. Not theory, not slides, but lived experience, real conversations, and practical strategies that help teams move from unsure to confident when it comes to accessibility, inclusion and real life disability interactions.

If you are leading a team and want to create a space where people feel welcome, respected, and understood, I would love to support that journey.

DiverseAbilities.ca

Photo description
Gina looks off into the distance. She is wearing sunglasses, slightly covering her mouth with a pondering look on her face.

03/10/2026

World Sight Day is coming on 08 October!

Behind every statistic about vision impairment and blindness is a person.

A person with ambitions, interests, relationships, hobbies and goals.

At Visibility Scotland, we know that vision impairment is just one part of someone’s story. Every day, we work alongside people across Scotland to build confidence, support independence and create opportunities for connection and inclusion.

This World Sight Day, we’ll be celebrating the people at the heart of our work and amplifying the voices of lived experience, starting off with a recent service user who received support from our Listening Ear project and gave the following feedback:

"I lost the sight of my left eye earlier this year and called Visibility Scotland for advice. I was contacted by Audrey from the Glasgow branch. This lady was a Godsend to me. She was not only understanding but totally inspirational and motivational. Through talking with Audrey I have learned to adapt to my situation. I will always be truly grateful to Audrey who is an outstanding ambassador for Visibility Scotland.”

Image description: Audrey, Visibility Scotland's Training and Information Specialist, sits at her desk speaking on the phone. She has short brunette hair and is wearing a black top with a blue Visibility Scotland lanyard. She is smiling.

03/10/2026

Travel when you have a vision impairment

Most of the time, it’s not just a case of jumping in the car and off you go.

Nope.

For many of us, it means public transport. And with public transport comes planning, stress, other people and, more often than not, delays.

So let’s bring spoon theory into it.

How many spoons does it take just to “pop into town”?

Spoon 1: Planning

What time does the bus come?
What time do I need to leave?
Which bus do I need?
Where do I need to get off?
Is there a backup if something goes wrong?

Spoon 2: Getting to the stop

Will someone have parked their car across the pavement?
Will there be bins in the way?
Roadworks?
Random signs or barriers that weren’t there yesterday?

Spoon 3: The journey

Will the bus actually turn up?
Will it stop for me?
Will I know when I’ve reached my stop?
What happens if there’s a diversion or something changes?

Spoon 4: Other people

Most of the time, the public are absolutely fine.

Other times, not so much.

The questions.
The comments.
The assumptions.
And occasionally, the accusations because apparently you can’t possibly be visually impaired if you can do insert completely normal thing here.

And there we are.

I’ve used three or four spoons and I haven’t even done the thing I went into town to do yet.

Then I have to actually do that thing.

And afterwards?

I have to do the whole journey again to get home.

That’s the bit people don’t always see.

Independence doesn’t mean something takes no effort.

Sometimes being independent takes a huge amount of planning, problem solving and energy just to do something somebody else can do without giving it a second thought.

So when a disabled person says, “I’m tired,” sometimes there’s a whole journey behind that tiredness that you never saw.



Image description: A cartoon-style image of a woman with a brown bob haircut and glasses standing at a bus stop holding a white cane. Around her are thought bubbles showing the different things she has to think about when travelling, including planning and timings, cars and roadworks blocking the pavement, whether the bus will arrive, and interactions with other people. A blue bus heading into town is approaching in the background. The words “Blind Mum” appear in the bottom corner.

01/10/2026

October is Blindness Awareness Month.

Sight loss is not one single experience.

For some people, central vision is blurred or missing, making faces and printed text difficult to make out. For others, side vision is reduced, meaning they may bump into objects or miss things that appear to one side.

Some people experience patchy gaps in their vision. Others find bright light and glare overwhelming, or struggle to see in dim conditions. Contrast and depth perception can also be affected, making things like steps, kerbs or pouring a drink more difficult than they might appear.

What a person can see may also change depending on the lighting, the time of day or how tired they are.

Being blind does not always mean having no vision at all. Many blind people have some remaining vision, while others have little or none.

That is why awareness matters.

It means understanding that you cannot always tell when someone has a visual impairment. Not everyone uses a white cane or a guide dog, and someone may be able to read a message on their phone one moment but struggle to read a bus timetable or sign the next.

It means avoiding assumptions about what somebody can or cannot do.

And it means making information, technology, services and public spaces accessible from the outset, rather than as an afterthought.

Making that a reality is part of our work at The Partially Sighted Society. We support people to make the most of their remaining vision and maintain their independence through specialist low vision assessments, adaptive technology, practical advice, emotional support and social activities.

Understanding grows when people share their experiences. If you live with sight loss, or know someone who does, what is one thing you wish more people understood about sight loss? Tell us in the comments and help show just how varied sight loss can be.

Greater awareness leads to better understanding. Better understanding leads to a more accessible world.

[Image description: Yellow, navy and white PSS graphic. “October: Blindness Awareness Month. Sight loss is different for everyone.” Three bullet points read: “Not all blindness means no vision”, “Sight loss is not always visible” and “Everyone’s experience is different.” PSS logo and partsight.org.uk below.]

29/09/2026

What if the accessibility feature is there, but the person it was designed for cannot find it?

On Sunday Sept 27th, I flew Air Canada from Halifax to Edmonton. On my flight from Toronto home, one interaction gave me both an excellent example of disability inclusion and an important reminder about accessible design.

I always pre-board so I have time to orient myself and get organized before the aircraft fills.

From the moment I boarded, flight attendant Alan did something incredibly important.

He asked me how I wanted to be assisted.

He didn’t assume.

As we walked towards my seat, he described what was around us. Passing through business class, a little further, emergency exits on both sides. He introduced himself and used my name when speaking to me. A simple, “Hi Gina,” before offering a beverage lets me know immediately that he is speaking to me rather than someone nearby.

Then came the safety demonstration.

Alan brought the oxygen mask and life jacket to me and put them into my hands. He walked me through the different parts of the life jacket so I could feel them and understand how they exactly worked. With the oxygen mask, he showed me how I pull on the hose to activate the air flow, where the strap was and exactly how it tightened.

That is the difference between giving someone information and making information usable.

Then Alan enthusiastically showed me another accessibility feature Air Canada has added.

Braille row numbers.

I genuinely appreciate that someone thought about passengers who are blind and recognized that we need independent access to this information.

There is just one problem.

I would never think to look where the Braille has been placed.

It is located high up, underneath the overhead baggage area where the printed rows are written.

As a blind passenger walking down an aisle, I am not going to reach up and over seated passengers searching for Braille.

So I gave Alan a challenge:

Close your eyes. Walk five rows down the aircraft. Now imagine you need to independently identify your row.

Where would your hand naturally look?

For me, it would be somewhere consistent and easy to locate, such as the aisle side of the seat 6 inches down from the top of the seat

Now imagine a row identifier designed to support more than one person.

A small plaque with:

Row 19.
ABC

Large white numbers on a black background for strong colour contrast.

Raised numbers that can be identified by touch.

Braille.

One simple identifier could support someone who is blind, someone with low vision, a person who does not read Braille, a senior, a child, an anxious traveller, or someone simply trying to find their seat in an unfamiliar environment.

For the passenger who does not need any of those features?

It changes nothing.

They walk right past it.

That is one of the things I wish more people understood about accessibility.

Some of us need these features today. As we age, our vision, hearing, mobility, memory and abilities will change. The things we design inclusively now may be the very things that make our own lives easier later.

Alan did not know the Braille placement was impractical.
Why would he?

He was genuinely excited that Air Canada had taken a step toward greater accessibility and I appreciated that enthusiasm.

The missing piece happens much earlier.

People who will actually use an accessibility feature need to be part of the conversation when it is being designed, tested and evaluated.

Do not guess where we will reach.

Do not guess what we will notice.

Do not guess what will help.

Ask us.

Then let us test it.

Accessible is a word. Usable is an experience.

Thank you, Alan, for an excellent interaction and for being so open to the conversation. You demonstrated what inclusion can look like when we ask first, listen and learn from one another.

That same approach belongs at the design table too.

Our aDAPT Workplace Inclusion workshop takes teams from uncomfortable to confident when real life situations happen. When we know what to say, what to do, what to notice and how to respond, no one feels awkward and everyone feels welcome.
Book your training today. Visit DiverseAbilities.ca

Please share this if you know anyone who works for Air Canada or if you want to help create better understanding.

Having a Disability doesn’t change who we are, it changes our interactions with the world.”-Gina Martin 




Which description
A cabin attendant walks down the isle on a plane with his eyes closed. this image demonstrates what practical, useable inclusion looks like.
 text Reads
Can you find your seat number easily?

28/09/2026

Accessible activities and events happening at Visibility Scotland- Visibility Scotland October 2026 programme