Ashley Nemeth, head of the CNIB chapter, sits with seeing eye dog DJ in a meeting room in Prince Albert’s Exhibition Centre. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Services for the blind

Quality of life is the point behind CNIB outreach in P.A

Sep 28, 2022 | 9:00 AM

The Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) just wrapped up two days of outreach in Prince Albert and said that a lot of people were interested.

Ashley Nemeth is the provincial director for the CNIB and said the outreach, the first of its kind, was about improving life for people who are blind or have partial sight.

“It’s really about reaching our rural and northern clients, so bringing our quality of life programming that we offer with CNIB to our clients,” Nemeth

A room under the Exhibition Centre’s grandstand was used for a meeting space with residents given time to connect with each other and also learn what services are locally available.

The CNIB does not have a local office but wanted to reach out to Prince Albert and northern Saskatchewan in general.

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“We’re still able to offer a lot of services and so just helping them get connected to those services but also to get connected to other people in the community,” said Nemeth.

For instance, many of the attendees did not know that local volunteers are available to help them with tasks like reading a newspaper or going for a walk.

The attendees enjoyed the chance to connect with peers, Nemeth said.

“People were surprised that those things were here in person in PA. They assumed they had to be done by phone or travel to Saskatoon,” she stated.

Throughout the pandemic, all services were virtual but now are they not only available in person, CNIB is hoping to expand.

Based on the feedback from the last two days and another planned visit in the spring, they will then decide what further services or programs are needed here.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com