Blindness and Mental Health Summit 2024

blindness and mental health summit friday, june 14 2024 a free virtual event

Blindness and Mental Health Summit

Thank you for attending our Blindness and Mental Health Summit on Friday, June 14, 2024!

Click Here for a Recording of Part 1: Speaker Series

Click Here for a Transcript from Part 1: Speaker Series

List of Speakers from Part 1: Speaker Series:

  • American Council of the Blind Mental Health and Wellness Committee, Pam Shaw
  • Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Cori Andrews and Amy Brunner Osvold
  • Be My Eyes, Andy Lane
  • Eye2Eye Peer Support Program for Vision Loss, Sam Hendrickson
  • Guide Dogs for the Blind, Dr. Jason Doorish, Ph.D.
  • Helen Keller Services, Jeanine Markey and Liz Sergi
  • Intuitive Counseling and Wellness, Kimberley Dobbs
  • Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Amy Ruell
  • National Federation of the Blind Human Services Division, Sarah Patnaude
  • Prevent Blindness, Julie Grutzmacher
  • Thriving Blind Academy, Charlie Collins
  • World Blind Union, Martine Abel-Williamson
  • 988 Crisis Prevention Hotline, Meegan Denenberg

Part 2: Exhibit Hall:

988 Crisis Hotline / JEME Consultants Group: JEME is a brand agency that fuses intentional design and compelling messaging to forge communication + brand strategies. JEME is minority and women led-and-operated with social impact at its core. We are here representing the 988 Crisis Hotline.

Accessible Pharmacy Services Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP): A year-long virtual lifestyle change program, using mindful discussion with like-minded peers to help lower participants risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

American Association on Health and Disability: The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) is a national cross-disability non-profit dedicated to ensuring health equity and inclusion for persons with disabilities.

American Council of the Blind Mental Health and Wellness Committee: Guided by its members, ACB advocates for equality of people who are blind and low vision, inspires community, and connects you with education, resources, and each other to support your independence.

Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI): The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) is a professional membership organization dedicated to professionals who provide services to persons with vision loss. 

Be My Eyes: Be My Eyes’ mission is to make the world more accessible for 285 million people who are blind or have low vision. We seek to perfect and scale a purpose with profit business model that deploys powerful new tools to create simultaneous delight for our blind and low vision community, our volunteers, and the companies and governments utilizing our platform.

BlindShell USA: BlindShell USA markets, distributes, and supports the BlindShell family of accessible cell phones across the United States. Our trained professionals empower individuals to explore and harness the power of the BlindShell Classic 2 product line, enhancing productivity and enriching their lives.

Described and Captioned Media Program: DCMP is the nation’s leading source of accessible educational videos. Families and school personnel with at least one early learner—Grade 12 student with a disability can register for free access to thousands of videos. DCMP also provides media accessibility information, guidelines for captioning and describing media, and eLearning resources for professional development.

Eye2Eye Peer Support Program for Vision Loss: Eye2Eye is a free, phone-based, peer support program, designed to help adults from across the country who are blind or visually impaired and their families adjust to the challenges of vision loss.  

Guide Dogs for the Blind: Guide Dogs for the Blind is the largest guide dog school in North America, more than 16,000 guide dog teams have graduated from GDB from across the U.S. and Canada since our founding in 1942. All of our services are provided free of charge, including personalized training and ongoing support, plus financial assistance for veterinary care, if needed.

Helen Keller Services for the Blind: Helen Keller Services for the Blind is an outpatient rehabilitation agency that provides clients who are legally blind or have low vision with necessary services and resources.

Leader Dogs for the Blind: Leader Dogs for the Blind provides free orientation and mobility, guide dog, Teen O&M, and Teen Summer Camp.

Lighthouse Guild: Lighthouse Guild provides exceptional services that inspire people who are visually impaired to attain their goals.

Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: MABVI empowers individuals to lead full lives through vision rehabilitation, counseling, and peer support services.

National Federation of the Blind Human Services Division: The National Federation of the Blind is a transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind people in the United States.

National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania’s largest organization of the blind, advocating for the blind.

OrCam: Empowering Accessibility with AI: OrCam leverages AI for handheld and wearable assistive solutions catering to individuals who are visually impaired or blind.

Pennsylvania Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (PA BBVS): The mission of the Bureau is to assist Pennsylvanians who are blind or visually impaired gain the skills necessary to live and work independently in their communities.

Pennsylvania Council of the Blind: The Pennsylvania Council of the Blind is a peer network of people impacted by vision loss. 

Prevent Blindness: At Prevent Blindness, our mission is to prevent blindness and preserve sight.

Thriving Blind Academy: Thriving Blind Academy is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the literacy, employment and financial crisis in the blind community. 

US Aging, Eldercare Locator, and Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL): Two national call centers designed to assist people with disabilities and older adults to find services and supports they need in their own communities.

VisionLink: VisionLink connects people with vision loss to resources for life.