Detroit nonprofit changing course for visually impaired
In September, the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired announced it would be closing next month due to the lack of funding. Since then, the organization has changed course.
The Greater Detroit Agency has been operating since 1961. It plans to continue that legacy for decades to come.
Doreen Singleton practices reading the braille alphabet with her fingertips. She has been visually impaired since birth. Now in her 60s, she has lost her vision.
"The only thing I can see is if they put a light up to the right, to the right side of my eye, that's it," Singleton said.
A few years ago, Singleton started going to the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired office in Southfield. Learning to use her cell phone again was just the start of her journey.
"When I came here to the agency. They said, Have you ever heard a voice over I said, What's that?" Singleton said. "Anything I want to do, I can do it."
The nonprofit serves close to 300 clients in seven counties across the Metro Detroit area. All of the agency's funding comes from donations, and it vowed to continue providing essential services.
Over the summer, the board looked at the financial outlook for the coming year and determined that the agency would close if it did not receive more funding. That's where Gary Horton, project manager of the Phoenix Project, comes in. The group provided the nonprofit with consulting.
"We put a team together to confirm those numbers. What we concluded shortly after that — an analysis took about 12 days — that there would be a way forward," Horton said.
"We serve a population that is not eligible for state services, so all of our services are free of charge," Horton said. "This organization cannot close, it cannot fail, there's too many people. It's too vital to too many people."
Horton added, "We are actually doubling down and expanding those services."
Singleton walks to the computer lab for some one-on-one instruction. The computer is equipped with Job Access With Speech (JAWS) software that converts screen text to speech. It's another example of the resources available at the organization.
"The impact it had on my life is that I can still be independent," Singleton said. "We're like a big family here. We all chain together. When one link is broke, we got to connect it back," Singleton said.