By Andrew Kirk

As Tri-City baby boomers age, the number finding

themselves losing vision is expected to balloon.

One in six Americans develop a visual impairment after

age 70, according to National Center for Health Statistics. It’s a scary

statistic people do their best to ignore, said Paul Shane, the new executive

director at Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in

Kennewick.

In his view, it would be wise to prepare for visual

impairment now.

Formerly chief executive officer of the California

Council of the Blind, Shane, who joined the Edith Bishel Center in May, said

the center’s potential impact in Southeast Washington excites him. He has 25

years of experience working in social services with 12 as an executive

director, and holds a master’s in nonprofit administration.

Started in 1988 by families and physicians wanting more

resources for retirement-age residents with vision impairment, the program

found a home when Edith Bishel donated land and funding to build a facility

across from Kamiakin High School.

Today the center offers services for people of all ages

in Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia and Klickitat counties.

The center offers programs for young people, too. It

offers pre-employment transition workshops for students, one-on-one

computer mentoring and support training for parents and siblings.

Shane said his background running a YMCA and center for

at-risk teens east of Sacramento will be an asset in expanding those programs.

But it is Southeast Washington’s growing elderly

population that presents the Edith Bishel Center a real opportunity to make a

difference, Shane said.

Shane said he often is introduced during community

functions as someone helping “those blind people,” as if it is a small

population of “others.” In reality, he said, the majority of people will become

visually impaired or have a close relative who will.

And if the country doesn’t curb its childhood obesity

epidemic, the problem will only get worse, he added. Obesity increases rates of

diabetes, which causes diabetic retinopathy, one of the fastest-growing causes

of vision problems in the U.S., he said.

“No one wants to think about it, but they’re going to

need our services at some point in their lives. Right now we’re the only

provider in a six-county region. We’re a grassroots provider and we struggle to

keep the lights on day to day,” he said.

The center operates on a $250,000 annual budget and

employs three people.

Shane has hit the ground running. He’s already secured a

grant to bring two AmeriCorps volunteers to the center to assist the two staff

members. He’s also booked a well-known blind comedian to perform at the

nonprofit’s annual fundraiser in September.

His No. 1 goal for 2019 is securing more diverse funding

for the center’s most impactful service: teaching people who become blind or

impaired how to live independently and possibly return to the workforce.

A state grant currently funds this work across the six

counties, but government funding goes up and down. Plus, only a fraction of the

people who qualify for the center’s services are accessing them, Shane said.

Increased funding would help volunteers and physicians reach more people—and it

is an essential service for those who need it, he said.

“In my experience in California, when a person loses

sight it takes five to 15 years to reclaim your life on a psychological

level,” he said. “You have to come to terms with who you are now, what you want

and how you’re going to get there.”

Dr. Mark Michael, president of the center’s board of

directors, said in 40 years of practice in the Tri-Cities, he’s seen

people become isolated after developing vision problems.

“They lose their sense of worth. They think their life is

over. We just want to prevent that kind of scenario from happening to anyone,”

he said. “We do that currently without regard for their ability to pay.”

Michael said the new executive director will be an asset

to the center. “I am excited to have Paul Shane as the Edith Bishel Center’s

new executive director,” he said. “His passion for the blind and low-vision

population will help us to expand the center’s services, improve the center’s

sustainability and to position the Edith Bishel Center as the premier center

for serving the blind and low-vision population here in Southeast Washington

state.”

Additional funding could allow the nonprofit to expand

its existing youth offerings as well, Shane said.

Shane said he learned while working with at-risk youth

that all youth are at risk in some way. All children are vulnerable if they

decide to handle challenges in a negative way.

“Throw blindness in in some way and it impacts the degree

of risk that youth is experiencing,” he said.

More community partners also would help introduce

businesses to how capable those with blindness or vision impairment really are.

In California, Shane said his clients battled a stigma with

employers assuming what they could or couldn’t do without giving them a chance

to prove themselves. In other scenarios, capable workers were kept at

entry-level positions long after they proved their worth because the employer

viewed them as a charity case.

Vanessa Pruitt of Kennewick uses the center often to get

help with technology that allows her to use a computer.

“(The center) provides a valuable contribution by

enhancing the abilities and lives of its blind members and partakes in essential

work in our community,” she said.

Dinner in the Dark fundraiser

Comedian Tommy Edison is headlining the Center’s annual

fundraiser in September. He pokes fun at stigmas and challenges people’s

assumptions about the blind in a hilarious manner.

The Sept. 28 fundraiser at the Pasco Red Lion Hotel and

Conference Center, “Dinner in the Dark,” invites attendees to enjoy a meal and

the evening’s entertainment while wearing a blindfold.

Aside from the state grant to fund independent living

services and several small grants, “Dinner in the Dark” is the center’s primary

funding.

This year’s event will feature a VIP mingle before dinner

at 6 p.m. allowing attendees to meet Edison and KNDU TV guest emcees anchor

Melanie Carter and meteorologist Monty Webb.

An online auction will be open prior to the event and a

traditional silent auction will be held during the event. Dancing and drinks

will be offered.

Cost is $50 for adults, $22 for children 10 and under. To

buy tickets, call the center at 509-735-0699.

The Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired:628 N. Arthur St., Kennewick, 509-735-0699; edithbishelcenter.org. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday.