How we help veterans

Photo of blind veteran Simon wearing his service medals

On this page

Blind Veterans UK can help you to live a fulfilling, independent life after sight loss. We believe that no one should battle blindness alone. 

We offer a bespoke service to every one of our beneficiaries, providing rehabilitation, training, practical advice and emotional support for life. 

Whether you need help with day-to-day living, getting out and about or staying in touch with loved ones, our expert staff are here to help you adjust to life with a vision impairment and relearn vital life skills.

Where can we support you?

We can support you remotely, via phone and video calls, at home, in your local community and in our two centres of wellbeing.

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Icon of hands holding a house, centre and phone indicating how we can support veterans
We tailor our support to each individual veteran

Helping you to live independently 

Many people who lose their sight do not realise that there are simple skills and strategies that can help them to live more independently. We are here to teach you these skills, and allow you to live a fulfilling life again. Whether it’s relearning how to do activities that you enjoyed before you lost your sight, or taking on a new task, we will help you set and reach your goals. With our help, our veterans have tackled challenges they previously never thought possible.   

But perhaps your goals are smaller, for now. Maybe you just need help getting dressed in the morning, making a cup of tea, brushing your teeth, or cooking a hot meal. Whatever you need, we will give you and your family the support you need to get back to living life to the fullest.

Meet Chris

Chris was a young man with a new baby when he was blinded while serving in Afghanistan.

He says he went from being a “confident soldier to not being able to make my own cup of tea”, until he joined Blind Veterans UK. Sometimes, it’s the small things that make all the difference.

A liquid-level indicator helped to turn his life around

In this short video, Chris attaches a liquid level indicator, a small yellow device, on the rim of a mug and then pours boiling water into the mug. When the boiling water reaches the liquid level indicator, its sensor triggers a beeping noise to tell Chris to stop pouring.

Meet the team

Get to know the Blind Veterans UK staff who will help you to regain your independence when you become a beneficiary.

Find out more
A group of nine Blind Veteran UK staff members at an event, gathered together and smiling
Our staff at the Queen's Jubilee event for blind veterans in 2022

What we can do for you

Rehabilitation

Our rehabilitation officers are specially trained to help veterans like you adjust to living with sight loss. Our care is tailored to your individual needs, so your rehabilitation programme is just that – yours.

Our team assess how you cope with carrying out day-to-day tasks. They will work with you to identify what you need help with and what your goals are. Your rehab programme will be based around what you need, and continually assessed during your time with us.

We will help you with things like: 

  • making the most of your remaining vision
  • mobility training to get you out and about again
  • learning independent living skills 
  • staying connected with loved ones 

"I could get back on social media and start being part of society and what it is to be a normal young man. Because, at 23, I'd thought, that’s it."

Rob
Blind veteran, on being trained to use a smartphone

Health and wellbeing

We take a holistic approach to caring for our blind veterans. As well as helping you overcome the physical challenges you may face while living with a visual impairment, we also offer advice on how to improve your general health and emotional wellbeing.

We will help you to access useful services from other organisations to ensure you can live well and enjoy fulfilling and rewarding hobbies and activities. 

We also offer a range of support and services internally where needed.

Our expert staff will discuss your needs and offer you advice, tips and programmes on areas including: 

  • general physical and mental health
  • mindfullness
  • sleep hygiene
  • healthy eating
  • therapeutic arts and crafts

Find out more about how we can help

Eligibility checker

Use our online checker to quickly find out if you can apply for support.

An icon of a pen in hand, ticking a series of check boxes

Apply for support

We help blind veterans of any generation, regardless of how or when they lost their sight.

Blind veteran Ken and his support worker sitting at a table laughing together in Ken's home

What happens after you apply

We explain the next stages after you send in your application.

Blind veteran Chris crossing a the road at a zebra crossing using a white cane.

Read more

Support us

We need your help to change blind veterans' lives. Find out more about how you can donate, fundraise or volunteer.

Charity supporter Dominic smiling as he runs along a crowd, wearing a Blind Veterans UK vest and holding his hand out to wave as he passes

Veterans' stories

Hear how we’ve helped blind veterans turn their lives around, in their own words.

Photo of blind veteran Rob with his daughter

Sight loss resources

Explore our articles for information and tips on living with a vision impairment.

Photo of blind veteran Janet be trained to use a magnifier