Denise Springett has a job that requires her to know "what is happening in every nook and cranny in each unique local community." As a Philanthropy Officer with CNIB's Ontario team, she works with community foundations across the province, connecting local dollars to local needs. CNIB has been part of her life since she was seven, and she brings more than twenty years of lived experience as a blind person to the role.

That lived experience shapes how she explains the work. Since 2018, CNIB, Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada, and Deaf-Blind Community Services have operated as three separate organizations, but a training developed across all three, called No Wrong Door, means a person can show up at any of them and be connected to the right support. Safety concerns are prioritized: in Kingston, high-priority clients are contacted within 72 hours, and the local client care navigator has 48 hours to respond.

One-on-one assistive technology training is available through Vision Loss Rehabilitation completely free, because it's covered by OHIP. Trainers, most of whom have lived experience of sight loss, go at the client's pace, whether that's adjusting a few phone settings in a single session or six to eight hours over several weeks.

Denise understands the effort behind that training firsthand. Using her remaining vision, she says, is "kind of like trying to do a 200-pound deadlift with your pinky. I suppose in theory, it's possible. But you're probably going to hurt yourself."

"It's my job to know what is happening in every nook and cranny in each unique local community."

The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area recently supported CNIB's Come to Work program, which helps people adjusting to sight loss navigate employment. Because of the grant, a CNIB staff member was able to travel from his home base in London, Ontario, to Kingston for an employer networking event, connecting with local businesses interested in accessible hiring practices.

The event taught CNIB something unexpected: the demand in Kingston isn't primarily younger workers. It's the older cohort, people who have been in their careers for years and are now adjusting to sight loss, needing support with career transition, workplace accommodations, or next steps.

"Having that trust is a really important part of being able to provide meaningful services," Denise says of CNIB's local peer support. When people trust the person running the coffee chat, they're far more comfortable saying, hey, I'm really struggling right now. Can you help me get connected?

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