United States
The Problem
- In the United States, 2 million children suffer from uncorrected refractive errors every year; yet in-school vision screening is largely nonexistent in underserved communities, leaving countless cases of refractive error undiagnosed and its sufferers unable to achieve their academic potential.
- Without eyeglasses, children with refractive error struggle in school, unable to clearly focus on the chalkboard, their textbooks, or on classroom presentations. Poor vision may even lead a child to drop out of school as a result of chronically poor academic performance.
What HKI Is Doing
Helen Keller International began ChildSight®, its domestic initiative, as a pilot program in New York City in 1994. The vision correction program "brings education into focus" by providing free, on-site vision screenings, prescription eyeglasses, and referrals for further care (as needed) for children living in poverty in the United States.
- Since its inception, ChildSight® has screened over 1.2 million students in the U.S. and has provided free eyeglasses to over 150,000 of the nation’s most vulnerable children.
- In the past year, 84% of students surveyed across the country said that their ChildSight® eyeglasses “helped them with their schoolwork,” and 90% of teachers surveyed reported significant improvements in class participation and grades among students who had their vision corrected with ChildSight® eyeglasses.
- In Cleveland, one of the poorest cities in the U.S., HKI’s dynamic partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) has resulted in more than 100,000 students receiving vision screening and more than 10,000 of these students receiving free prescription eyeglasses.
ChildSight® has grown to serve children in seven states: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Texas. Please click on the state for more details about each site.
California
In the 2008-2009 school year in Los Angeles and Long Beach counties, ChildSight® provided 25,490 vision screenings and 2,561 pairs of eyeglasses to students within the Los Angeles, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lennox, Long Beach, and Montebello Unified School Districts. In the summer, the program works with the Boys & Girls Clubs of East Los Angeles, Long Beach, Whittier, Watts, and Venice.
This year, with rising unemployment and widening health disparities among Californians, the need for ChildSight®’s vision correction services is more critical than ever.
ChildSight® Los Angeles
Jorge Valdez − Program Manager
761 Terminal Street, Second Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90021-1100
Telephone: + 1 (213) 623-1810
Fax: + 1 (213) 623-1860
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the Los Angeles program.
Connecticut
In the 2008-2009 school year in Connecticut, ChildSight® provided a record-breaking 9,598 vision screenings and 1,902 pairs of eyeglasses to students in the public school districts of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and New London. Of the 399 Connecticut students surveyed by the program, 91% reported that their ChildSight® eyeglasses “helped them with their schoolwork.”
ChildSight® Connecticut
Basheera Abdus-Sabur − Program Manager
United Church on the Green
323 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Telephone/Fax: + 1 (203) 776-5221
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the Connecticut program.
New Jersey
In the 2008-2009 school year in New Jersey, ChildSight® provided 10,570 vision screenings and 1,882 pairs of eyeglasses to public middle-school students in Newark, Jersey City, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Passaic and Plainfield.
The following comment from a Newark schoolteacher illustrates the impact that clear vision has on their students:
“Several of my students had trouble seeing in class. They didn’t answer questions because their ability to read their textbooks or the blackboard was severely hampered. Since they received their glasses from ChildSight®, some of these students are the first to raise their hands to answer a question and among the first to complete reading assignments. They even volunteer to read aloud in class.”
ChildSight® New Jersey
Kindal Beckley − Program Manager
Harold Wilson Middle School
190 Mohammed Ali Avenue
Newark, NJ 07108-2141
Telephone: + 1 (973) 242-1619
Fax: + 1 (973) 242-5005
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the New Jersey program.
New Mexico
In the 2008-2009 school year, ChildSight® New Mexico screened 5,065 children in Gallup, including children living on the Navajo Reservation. Of these, ChildSight® provided 1,595 children (31%) with free eyeglasses.
Among the three types of refractive error, astigmatism tends to afflict Native American children at a relatively high rate, compared to other groups in the United States. Yet, due to poverty and rural isolation, many Native American children do not have access to the care they need. ChildSight® remains a bright spot in this community where vision care is neither affordable nor accessible to the vast majority.
ChildSight® New Mexico
Angie Holtsoi − Program Manager
P.O. Box 1898
Gallup, NM 87305
Telephone/Fax: + 1 (505) 863-1946
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the New Mexico program.
New York
In the 2008-2009 school year in New York City, ChildSight® screened 31,823 middle-school students in public and parochial schools throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Out of this group, the program delivered 3,733 pairs of free eyeglasses to students who needed them.
To address the delicate vision care needs of younger children, ChildSight® New York also serves underprivileged pre-school children between ages 4-5. Children at this age must be screened for refractive error as well as potentially severe eye conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye). Left untreated, amblyopia can cause irreversible visual impairment, even blindness. Since its launch in 2005, the ChildSight® Pre-K vision screening program has served over 10,533 children within Head Start programs, Universal Pre-Kindergartens and day care centers throughout New York City.
ChildSight® New York
Tonya Daniels − Senior Program Manager
352 Park Avenue South, Suite 1200
New York, NY 10010
Telephone: + 1 (212) 532-0544 x817
Fax: + 1 (212) 532-6014
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the New York program.
Ohio
In the 2008-2009 school year in Ohio, ChildSight® provided free, on-site vision screenings for 10,890 students within Cleveland and East Cleveland public schools, and provided 2,400 of those students with the free prescription eyeglasses they needed. Of the 185 Cleveland students surveyed this past year, 81% reported that their ChildSight® glasses “helped them with their school work”.
ChildSight® Cleveland
Emily Lee - Program Manager
P.O. Box 201817
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
Telephone: + 1 (216) 409-8641
Fax: + 1 (216) 916-4327
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the Ohio program.
Texas
In the 2008-2009 school year in El Paso County, ChildSight® screened 8,099 students and delivered 1,015 pairs of glasses to students who needed them.
In addition to being the fourth poorest county in the U.S., El Paso has the highest proportion of uninsured adults and children. Now in its 9th year of service, ChildSight® Texas continues to “bring education into focus”™ for El Paso schoolchildren who would otherwise be left with untreated vision problems – and lost opportunities.
ChildSight® Texas
Margie Perez Martinez − Program Manager
4420 Loma De Brisas
El Paso, TX 79934-3703
Telephone/Fax: + 1 (915) 821-6378
Please click here for a detailed description (PDF) of the Texas program.
