This can include individuals, their families and support networks. Blindness can happen to anyone at anytime.
Consumers come from all walks of life and range in age from newborns to seniors.
Vision loss respects no age, gender, socioeconomic, religious or racial barriers. Requests for service are welcomed from individuals directly and are accepted from ophthalmologists, optometrists, doctors, community health workers, organizations, agencies, family members, etc. To ensure the most appropriate service for an individual, medical information from their eye specialist is obtained during the assessment process. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is a multi-service rehabilitation agency which, through its 60 offices located across Canada, provides services to more than 100,000 blind and visually impaired Canadians. A national review of the seven core services, completed in 1996, determined that while all the core services are essential, they should be directed to specific age groupings with an emphasis on being consumer-driven.