After vision loss cost him his job and home, Atlanta veteran finds new independence with Meta smart glasses
Dennis Darnes began losing his vision at age 50 after being diagnosed with glaucoma and cataracts.
"I felt like the world had closed in on me," Darnes recalled. "It was depressing, I was not feeling good about myself. It felt like I was less than."
The vision loss quickly changed his life. Darnes lost his job and eventually his home. Simple daily routines became daunting hurdles. "I was afraid to cross the street, afraid to ask people for help," he said.
A chance conversation with a fellow bus passenger changed everything, leading him to the Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) in Midtown. For 60 years, CVI has operated as the only comprehensive low-vision clinic in the state. Inside a training apartment on-site, specialists taught Darnes how to navigate daily life using touch, sound, bump dots, and his remaining senses.
On White Cane Awareness Day, an annual observance celebrating the achievements and independence of visually impaired individuals, Darnes and more than 50 other veterans received a free pair of Meta smart glasses.
The smart glasses use built-in cameras and artificial intelligence to scan written documents, read street and store signs aloud. The Meta glasses can also describe the surrounding environment in real time.
For Darnes, now 70, the wearable technology has transformed his independence both at home and out in the community.
"By pairing the glasses, the Be My Eyes app, I got some of my independence back. I can go to the grocery store and say, direct me to the lemon pepper seasoning, then it does it." Darnes continues with, "I ask the glasses what color shirt am I holding up or if I drop a quarter on the floor, the glasses can help me find it.
"It really opens up possibilities that we just couldn't imagine a few years ago," said Jodi Taylor, Center for the Visually Impaired Board Chair.
CVI partnered with Meta to provide more than 50 pairs of smart glasses to visually impaired veterans, along with comprehensive hands-on training.
"We have a new technology guide that is available regardless of age, regardless of income level," Taylor said. "We want to make sure that as the new tech is coming out, you have the opportunity if you need it to access it."
For Darnes, having access to these tools has broken down barriers that once kept him isolated.
Now at 70, the world that seemed to close in on Darnes now feels open. "There's no box, ain't no box," Darnes said. "You can almost do anything. I have a better quality of life."
CVI offers training programs, assistive technology resources, and clinical services for individuals experiencing vision loss. Details on available programs and technology guides can be found on CVI's website.
