Serving The Needs Of Blinded Veterans

Known as BVA, the Blinded Veterans Association has field service offices throughout the country that provide advice, information and aid to blinded veterans and their families.

Field service representatives-all of whom are blinded veterans themselves-serve as role models and link veterans with services, rehabilitation opportunities, training and employment. They also represent them in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims process and offer emotional support.

There is no charge for any service provided by the organization and all legally blinded veterans are eligible for assistance regardless of when they lost their vision, during their service or afterward.

Membership is not a prerequisite for any service, including the opportunity for spouses and children of blinded veterans to apply for college scholarship funds.

For blinded veterans who decide to join the organization, the BVA Auxiliary offers their family members and friends emotional support, camaraderie, caregiver training and additional opportunities.

One of the organization's most recent achievements, one for which it had been working for many years, is legislation that authorizes the hiring of 35 new Blind Rehabilitation Outpatient Specialists at VA medical centers that do not already have a specialist on staff.

Still another landmark achievement for BVA occurred in late January, when VA Secretary R. James Nicholson announced that VA would be reorganizing its vision rehabilitation services to provide eye care to veterans with visual impairments ranging from 20/70 to total blindness.

Under the new plan, basic low-vision services will be available at all VA eye clinics. In addition, all of the 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks will offer intermediate and advanced low-vision services to help veterans who are in the earliest stages of blindness. The reorganization may affect more than 1 million veterans.

To learn more, visit the Web site at www.bva.org or call (800) 669-7079. BVA National President Larry Belote, second from left, testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

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