By LOIS KINDLE
If you or someone you know has impaired vision, Seniors in Service can help bring the world of sight back to you.
The 501(c) 3 nonprofit, host of the Low Vision Support Group in Sun City Center since August 2022, recently introduced members to Meta Glasses, a life-changing accessibility tool designed to improve the health, safety, independence and confidence of those who wear them.
“I believe they’re a game changer for the low-vision and blind community,” said Michelle Mason, facilitator of the Low Vision Support Group. “When we recently demonstrated them in the group, Sue Spicer, a member who’s been blind for more than 40 years, said excitedly, “I can read again!”
COURTESY PHOTO
Seniors in Service began fundraising efforts in March to provide Meta glasses for 75 low-vision or blind seniors in the South Shore area who can’t afford them. Its first event was Dining in the Dark, where sighted individuals shared a dining experience with a completely blind person.
These revolutionary glasses are normal-looking Ray-Ban sunglasses with super powers. Thanks to their technology, which includes a camera, microphone, speakers and AI capabilities for tasks like live translation, hands-free calling, texting and emailing, wearers can read important mail, help with medication adherence, find objects in the room, identify obstacles, listen to voicemail and even ensure their wearer’s clothes match before they head out the door.
One of the most exciting aspects of Meta glasses is their integration with the Be My Eyes app, which connects users to a huge network of volunteers who answer calls and assist with everyday tasks.
These volunteers can see through the Meta glass camera and help wearers do things like find something they dropped; read prescription information, menus and product expiration dates; tell them what the room they walked into looks like; find a bathroom in many locations; and more.
Mason said Meta glasses were originally created by Facebook for sighted hipsters who wanted to be trendy with technology.
“Suddenly members of those low-vision community, which includes completely blind individuals, took hold of the use of them and never looked back,” Mason said. “They’re the ones now driving a lot of innovation.”
This means older adults with some form of vision loss, including folks with macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, can regain their independence, feel safer, less anxious and more self-assured and start enjoying their lives again in ways they thought were lost to them.
Seniors in Service started fundraising efforts in March to provide Meta glasses for 75 low-vision or blind seniors in the South Shore area who can’t afford them. They’re not covered by Medicare.
The organization’s first event, Dining in the Dark, featured tables of sighted folks wearing blindfolds dining with a completely blind person who shared what it’s like to lose completely lose vision.
Sponsored by the SCC Men’s Club, VIPcare and HCA Florida South Shore Hospital, the evening netted $14,500.
Additionally, the Interfaith Council of Sun City Center recently awarded a $2,500 grant to Seniors in Service for its Meta Glasses program.
Seniors in Service works with an optometrist in St. Petersburg to add a prescription to the Meta glasses it sells, a service that’s included in the cost. A one-year warranty and a case that provides the glasses with a 48-hour charge are also included.
“We want every person with impaired vision who needs Meta glasses to have access to this life-changing technology, and we want to provide them to those in the community who can’t afford them,” Mason said. “They make a huge difference in a quality of life and allow a person to live independently.”
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Michelle Mason, facilitator of the Low Vision Support Group in Sun City Center, is seen here wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, normal-looking sunglasses with super powers. Also available with clear and transition lens, with or without a prescription, they’re a revolutionary, life-changing accessibility tool for folks vision loss.
The Low Vision Support Group meets from 2 to 3 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Sun Towers, 101 Trinity Lakes Drive, Sun City Center. To accommodate growth, the group will meet at Kings Point, beginning in July. The meeting space has yet to be determined.
Recipients of the glasses are invited to join a new monthly Meta Glasses User Support Group, which will start June 29 at Kings Point. Its meetings will encourage fellow members to share practical tips for using their glasses and ensuring they have the training necessary to use them to their fullest potential. Thirty-six Low Vision Support Group members have already joined.
Currently, one in five Sun City Center residents over age 65 suffers some form of vision loss. That’s about 4,000 people. Just imagine how many more live in surrounding communities.
For more information, contact Mason at mmason@seniorsinservice.org/. To donate, contact her or email Robin Ingles at ringles@seniorsinservice.org.