Central Albertans who are blind or partially sighted will face longer wait times for programming when Vision Loss Rehabilitation Alberta closes its Red Deer office Friday due to a funding decision by the provincial government.
Regional offices will also close in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Grande Prairie. Eleven staff positions, including two in Red Deer, will be eliminated.
Offices in Calgary and Edmonton will remain open.
Executive director Matthew Kay said the funding was requested over a year ago but Vision Loss, a government-funded organization, will still provide services in clients’ homes in regional areas.
“We are committed to continue to provide service to our clients across the province. We are going to continue to send rehabilitation specialists from Edmonton and Calgary to provide service to these outlying regions. However, we do expect wait times to increase,” Kay said.
He said the Red Deer office serves about 400 clients in the region, and much of the training was already provided in clients’ homes.
“Clients are concerned and stressed. We are reassuring them that we are committed to provide these services for them.”
The group has said the funding shortfall will result in reductions in travel and mobility instruction, as well as early intervention services for children with vision loss.
The province said it did not cut funding to the organization.
“The work organizations like CNIB do, through programs like Vision Loss Rehab, provides important supports to people with disabilities. Funding has not been cut, and Community and Social Services’ current agreement (April 2018 to March 2020) with CNIB remains in place at their current level,” said Kassandra Kitz, press secretary for Minister of Community and Social Services Rajan Sawhney.
Related:
Vision Loss Rehabilitation Alberta, which provides vision assessments and daily living skills training to people to enhance their independence, safety and mobility, was launched in 2018.
Kay said previously, all rehabilitation services were provided by donation-driven CNIB, and his group was created to provide government-funded services.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter