by admin | Dec 8, 2020 | Blog
Paul Caruso spent up to 90 minutes on a bus for people with disabilities to get to Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey in Denville. The ride back to his Lodi home after weekly classes consistently took an hour and a half, and often involved a transfer.
That was just fine with Caruso. “I considered it all part of the experience, being out and connecting with people,” said the 53-year-old, who has been blind since birth. “I devoted my day to it, and that began as soon as I stepped on the bus.”
Since March, when VLANJ switched to virtual programs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caruso has immersed himself in the nonprofit’s online classes and support groups. “It’s really good for my peace of mind,” Caruso said. “It gives structure to my days. It’s nice to feel, `I’ve got to get to get onto that meeting,’ ” he said.
Caruso is a big fan of VLANJ’s self-advocacy group, Moving Forward One Step at a Time. He volunteers as a mentor for the Apps Club, an extension of VLANJ’s iPhone and iPad technology program. He’s enrolled in a peer support group, the Fit and Balance exercise class, and Inquiring Minds, a discussion group that often features guest speakers.
Caruso recently added VLANJ’s new Technology Learning Lab to his busy schedule. He’s learning computer skills using JAWS, a screen reader. Caruso said he wants to be prepared should a job opportunity arise. “It never hurts to try to think ahead, and that’s what I am trying to do,” he said.
Caruso lost his vision to retinopathy of prematurity (previously known as retrolental fibroplasia or RLF). The disease affects some people who were born prematurely and received oxygen therapy as part of their neonatal intensive care.
Caruso attended Lodi public schools. After graduating, he operated a vendor stand at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton for 22 years. Through a New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired program, Caruso didn’t pay rent, but managed his own inventory of snacks and drinks. He moved back to Lodi in 2010.
He first attended VLANJ in 2015 and enrolled in the technology program. The following year, he signed up for the all-day wellness classes. “Thursdays are awesome! It’s great getting out and connecting with people,” Caruso said.
While he enjoys the virtual programs, Caruso plans to resume his long commute to VLANJ and in-person classes when the pandemic ends. “When we go back, I will be going back!” he said.
by admin | Dec 8, 2020 | Blog
Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey this fall launched Living Independently for Tomorrow (LIFT), a virtual adaptive skills program for people adjusting to sight loss and their family members. LIFT is an online version of VLANJ’s effective in-person Essential Low Vision course, providing basic training in daily life activities.
Over four weeks, LIFT covers: cooking and kitchen safety; low-tech communications and simple solutions, including dialing a phone, medication identification and identifying bills and coins; education in lighting, contrast, optical aids, and basic assistive technologies; and an introduction to mobility and orientation by VLANJ’s mobility specialist. VLANJ also provides resources to participants.
Participants meet with VLANJ instructors over Zoom video conferencing for 90-minute sessions. They also can enroll in the nonprofit’s Beyond Sight wellness programs, such as Now and Zen Yoga and Fit and Balance. For more information, contact VLANJ Senior Program Manager Linda Groszew at lgroszew@vlanj.org.
by admin | Dec 8, 2020 | News
Had Lukas Franck liked working with children, his 43-year career with The Seeing Eye guide dog school might never have taken off. Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey’s newest trustee intended to use his undergraduate degree in speech pathology and audiology to work with deaf children. But after a stint in a school, “I
realized it wasn’t a good fit.”
An acquaintance of his father, the Dutch-American artist Frederick Franck, offered the younger Franck an apprenticeship at The Seeing Eye in 1978. “I loved it. I got to be outside all the time, training dogs and teaching blind people,” he said. When daily dog training caused a strain injury in his left shoulder, Franck designed an ergonomic harness handle. He holds a patent. Franck left after eight years to earn a master’s degree in orientation and mobility from Western
Michigan University. He rejoined The Seeing Eye as a certified orientation and mobility specialist.
By 1993, Franck was traveling the U.S. and Canada as a community instructor, troubleshooting for guide dogs owners, meeting applicants, and teaching classes at universities with mobility and orientation programs. He is now a senior consultant at the Morris Township-based guide dog school. Witnessing the challenges of blind people in their communities, Franck became an advocate in environmental access. For example, he worked with New Jersey traffic engineers to install
pedestrian signals in busy Morristown that use sound to notify visually impaired people when to cross an intersection. Franck belongs to the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired and chaired its environmental access committee.
“It’s been a charmed life,” the 67-year-old said. At the urging of VLANJ Board of Trustees Chairman Carl Augusto, Franck joined the nonprofit’s board over the summer. “I’m impressed by the organization’s dynamism and clear vision through the pandemic,” he said. When the coronavirus forced VLANJ to halt in-person instruction in the spring, the nonprofit quickly pivoted to virtual wellness and technology classes. It has since expanded its offerings and attracts visually impaired participants from beyond northern New Jersey.
Franck remains passionate about mobility, and believes a new model is needed to make training more accessible. Currently, a blind person’s options are to commit to a weeks-long residential program or get in-home training that, because of large caseloads, is often bare bones, he said. One of Franck’s visions is for VLANJ to team up with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind to develop an intensive weeklong mobility program. “I’d like to see if we can develop a different model of service,” he said.
Franck lives in Chester Township with his wife, Pauline, and a 4-year-old retired Seeing Eye breeder named Wynter. The couple has four adult children and two grandchildren. Franck is president of Pacem in Terris, a museum in Warwick, New York created in the 1960s by his father and stepmother. Pacem in Terris, which means peace on earth, features 70 of Frederick Franck’s sculptures on its six acres.
by admin | Dec 3, 2020 | Program
Registration is now open for Winter 2021 classes! Click here to go to the registration page for all virtual classes.
by admin | Sep 24, 2020 | Events
Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey invites you to VLANJ Goes Virtual: A Dining in the Dark Experience.
Thursday, October 29, 2020
6:45pm EST – Pre-Show
7:00pm EST – Event
Learn about the life of a person with vision loss through a series of stories featuring:
Cooking and Dining
Orientation and Mobility
Assistive Technology
Click Here for your complimentary registration.
Platinum Sponsors
The Bleach Family
The Augusto Family
Claudia Schreiber
Gold Sponsors
Peapack-Gladstone Bank
Williams Jones Wealth Management
Silver Sponsors
Modera Wealth Management
Frank Cafasso, EA LLC
NJ Natural Gas
NJM Insurance Group
Dispenziere & Company, LLP
Martin and Misty Hagan
BridgeHaven Financial Advisors
Summit Lions Club
Norman Dean Home for Services
McIntee, Fusaro Del Corral, LLC
Eyes Like Mine
Church of the Savior
Sponsor a Student
Dyer Landscaping
Please contact Jennifer Singer, Director of Development at (973) 627-0055 ext 1323, jsinger@vlanj.org, for more information.
