Vision Support Barrow & District launches new three-year strategy - Friday 24 Jan 2025
Vision Support Barrow & District launched their 2025-2028 strategy earlier this week which showcases a collective ambition to grow and develop their support services for local people with vision impairments.
The strategy has been co-produced to reflect the ambitions of the charity’s trustees, employees, and service users. Amanda Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is not just my strategy; it is a strategy for everyone.”
“To write this strategy, I have asked service users across our area about their experiences and what is important to them for the future. This collective ambition sets out the roadmap for the next three years.”
Their new strategy focuses primarily on three ambitions: providing high quality services for children and young people (Starting Well), continuing to support blind and partially sighted adults to live independently (Living Well), and providing high quality care and accommodation at Ostley House (Aging Well).
The new strategy has been co-designed and printed in collaboration with Barrow-based graphic and web designer, Pair Creative Ltd.
Alongside the new strategy, Vision Support is also evolving in other ways having recently recruited project coordinators for two new projects – Barrow Buddies and a Working Age programme.
Barrow Buddies, funded by Active Cumbria’s Travel Actively Barrow programme, is a new scheme which matches up sighted guide volunteers with people who are vision impaired and socially isolated. Barrow Buddies will also hold weekly walks to improve fitness and mental wellbeing.
The Working Age programme will support people who are furthest removed from the job market but of working age as well as establishing a forum for people in work to share experiences and knowledge.
Vision Support Barrow & District currently supports over 900 blind and partially sighted people. However, they know that there are many more people across South West Cumbria who could benefit from their support.
Vera Wilton, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said: “Vision Support Barrow and District is an organisation steeped in more than one hundred years of history and is well known in Barrow in Furness for the contribution it has made to people’s lives in the area.”
“Our challenge now is to expand our reach and ensure that people with sight loss in the furthest areas of South West Cumbria, understand the contribution we can make to their lives.”
Digital and audio versions of VSBD's three-year strategy can be found on their website. Large print and braille versions are also available from the Vision Support Centre at 67/69 Cavendish Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 1QD.
