Eye2Eye: Building Connection and Resilience Through Peer Support for Vision Loss

Jennifer Ottowitz: Welcome to OIB-TAC’s monthly webinars, where our presenters share valuable information and helpful resources to support professionals working with older adults who are blind or vision impaired. Let's check out this month's webinar. So again, welcome to our webinar, Eye2Eye: Building Connections and Resilience Through Peer Support for Vision Loss.

And I'm really thrilled to welcome our presenters, Dr. Alicia Lukachko and Dana Manson from the Eye2Eye program. They're both with Rutgers University. Their complete bios and information about their background are posted on our website page. But I am just very excited to learn about this really valuable program that will help.

Individuals find those connections and get that support that is so helpful to them at any stage in vision loss. So I'm gonna turn it over to Alicia at this point.

Alicia Lukachko: Thank you so much, Jennifer, and I know, we've been waiting, well, excited. We've been anticipating with excitement this, opportunity for a long time.

So thanks so much. We're so excited to be here. sharing information about the Eye2Eye peer support program for vision loss. This slide includes the name of our program and the logo for the Rutgers School of Health Professions, where Eye2Eye is based, and the Eye2Eye logo features an eye cradled by two hands.

And the words I, number two, I. And this slide is titled Our Presenters and shows photos of Dana Manson, peer Support Specialist and me, program director with the Eye2Eye logo above. And my name's Alicia Lucco. I serve as a program director again for Eye2Eye. and I have a background in public health and social work. and my role in Eye2Eye is to oversee the program, the development of the program, supervision and evaluation of the program. I'm joined today by my colleague Dana Manson, who is one of our peer support, specialist. and also she oversees the, the, outreach and, promotion of our program.

and social media. she wears a lot of hats actually. And, she was also, well, she will describe her background

Dana Manson: A little more detail. Dana, do you wanna say hi? Hi everyone. I'm Dana Manson. Yes, Alicia introduced me well. I also am a social worker, like Alicia, recently became a social worker, and I'll tell you guys all about that later on.

in my experience with Eye2Eye as a whole. Great. And

Alicia Lukachko: Dana brings her professional training and her lived experience, with vision loss and that combination is really central to how Eye2Eye works. so this slide titled, overview Lists of Presentation Sections, with the Eye2Eye logo at the right.

And today I'll begin with, describing who we are as a program, followed by the background and rationale for why we started, Eye2Eye, or Why Eye2Eye was started. And then I'll describe our services, and reach and I'll share what we've learned so far. Just in terms of, those, those folks in the states that we serve now.

And after that we'll transition into the peer support experience. So this slide includes a description of the eye-to-eye peer support program for vision loss. A photo of a young woman standing, holding a phone in her hands and an older adult man sitting on a couch, holding a phone to his ear. Eye2Eye is a free phone-based peer support program.

again, it's designed to help individuals and their families adjust to the challenges of vision loss. while we're based out of Rutgers University in New Jersey, our program serves adults from across the country. Eye2Eye focuses on that shared experience of vision loss as a powerful tool for connection, emotional support, and personal growth.

I'll describe more about our services and callers to the program. They're paired with trained peer support specialists who connect, with clients on a regular basis. And I'll detail, more about that. They provide emotional support, key tips for information, mentorship, community resources, and our main focus is that one-to-one peer support.

But we also offer virtual and phone base. peer support groups. And I, I also wanna mention that, callers often say when they are calling into the program that it's the first time that they've spoken to someone who really gets it, who really understands what they're going through. And that sense of connection, I believe makes Eye2Eye unique and a valuable, addition to the community.

So this slide includes an image of several, diverse hands classed together, symbolizing unity and support, and includes our mission statement. So our mission at Eye2Eye is to help people build resilience, navigate those challenges of vision loss, and celebrate victories as well. Step at a time.

And that mission statement, it's simple, but it really speaks to the heart of our program. Eye2Eye was created to support individuals experiencing vision loss, at any degree or level. as they navigate what can be a very challenging and complex process. our role is to support people through that process.

helping them find ways to move forward at their own pace. as I mentioned, we also work with families. One thing that we, realize in our work is that families, are going through their own and, and loved ones are often going through their own adjustment process. and so bringing them into, the, the work and the peer support really helps to benefit client outcomes.

And, the approach that we use is very strength-based, so we focus on resilience, connection, and recognizing progress even when that happens gradually.

So this slide SL shows the, the title program, background along, side, the Eye2Eye logo. Eye2Eye was first launched, by Dr. Steve Silverstein. and he was formerly part of Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare and the department of. Psychiatry and it was started in October of 2019 with funding from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind.

the program was modeled after other successful peer support line lines at Rutgers. and you may be aware of some of these, there's vet to vet, cop to cop, or mom to mom, which all connect people, individuals with peers who share the, that lived. Experience. Experience and they are call lines and phone based.

so in March of 2020 I to, I moved to the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, at the Rutgers School of Health Professions. And since then, we have received a. Excuse me. Additional funding from Readers Digest partners for site, the Sarah Kay Decoy Art Fund, the Fan Fox and Leslie r Samuels, foundation.

And recently, we've received a grant from the Give Family Foundation. we're so grateful for this support. It has really allowed us to. Expand our services and to reach more people, across the country. I also want to, mention that a very important part of our, funding and support comes from individual donations.

And we started out serving only the tri-state area when Eye2Eye first, got started and kicked off. And today we serve clients from 44 states across the country. so we've really grown. Okay. Now we, we do serve, you know, we serve individuals nationwide, but currently 44 are represented. We're trying to get the rest.

So, at and the growth of the program, it really reflects the need for emotional support services for individuals coping with the challenges of vision loss. This slide includes a list of mental health outcomes associated with vision, loss of vision, a photo of an older adult man, and one of a young adult woman both seated and resting their chins on their hands in apparent contemplation.

Losing vision, whether suddenly or gradually is often associated. it, it's often a highly stressful and even traumatic experience. depression is common among individuals, with vision loss, according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four adults with vision loss, report anxiety or depression.

And with younger adults being at especially high risk. So loss of vision has also been associated with loneliness, social isolation, feelings of worry, anxiety, fear and lower reported quality of life. now this doesn't accompany everyone's experience, but because. There's a higher risk. We really want to be able to provide as many services as possible to help in that adjustment.

And the need for emotional support services aimed at helping individuals and their families, that's substantial. But research indicates that these mental health needs go largely unmet. So the Eye2Eye peer support program was developed to help fill this gap in support services and really to help connect individuals who are facing those significant, mental health needs with appropriate professional resources and services.

That is another important function of the program. I would say, when there are those who could benefit from, professional mental health, our service can really help to make those connections.

Okay, so. Peer support and Eye2Eye, as I was saying, do help fill that gap, in terms of, mental health service needs. And this slide is titled Core Functions of Peer Support and includes an illustration of people holding hands in as. Spiral symbolizing connection and community. it lists the key functions of peer support, which include first, practical support, helping people problem solve, everyday challenges.

Second, social and emotional support, listening, validating, providing encouragement. Third, connecting people to clinical care and community resources, making sure that people know what's available to them and how to access those resources. And finally, ongoing support because adjusting to vision loss takes time and people often benefit from that sustained contact.

And these core functions, are reflected in Eye2Eye services. Dana also will go into more detail about, these core functions of, of peer support in her work that she, has, has provided, and also as a pre, as a former, client of Eye2Eye. So this slide is titled Benefits of Peer Support and Highlights, important benefits, associated with peer support.

peer support has been linked to a number of positive outcomes, including improvements in emotional wellbeing, social connection, treatment engagement, and overall quality of life. while the broader evidence is, strong. We do know that that research associated or specific to vision loss, peer support with vision loss, that's limited and it's something in an area, where more work is, is needed and one that we really hope to contribute to our outcomes that we've seen with our program have been very positive.

and I'll, that's something that we'll talk about a little bit more as well.

So here's a snapshot of services we currently offer on this slide is titled Our Services and shows photos of two people talking on the phone, highlighting the one-to-one and group based. Well, peer support that Eye2Eye provides, as a peer support program. Eye2Eye offers emotional support, community connection.

we also offer assessments of needs and wellbeing, we help clients with in terms of goal setting. we can give information about. And, and resources. as I mentioned, we also do engage in providing referrals, as we can, and also offer those services for families and loved ones. We also offer virtual peer support services.

including a workshop, for individuals who are new to Vision Loss. a support group for young adults and, groups for spouses and partners. I'm gonna describe a little bit more about our, our groups that we offer in just a moment. And, we also offer Spanish, services in Spanish as well as a dedicated program for older adults in New York City.

So here this slide titled Virtual Peer Support Groups includes a photo of diverse hands joined together in a circle, and lists of groups we currently offer, some I've all I've already mentioned, and along with a few that we're hoping to get off the ground within the next six months. So our current groups are those monthly support groups.

one for spouses and partners as I mentioned. We also are offering a young adults groups for, ranging from ages eight to 13. Dana actually, she, she was a person who started that, that group. And, so she's handing over the torch now, but, she can speak a little bit more about that. We offer a group for older adults, in New York City.

again, I mentioned the New York. The new division workshop. And I also, do wanna mention that we offer a group that we, we refer to as the waiting group. We do, unfortunately have a waiting list for our services, but we do wanna make sure that, those who are on our wait list have an opportunity to connect with others and to our programs.

So we offer a, group, a support group. Just for those who are waiting to be assigned to a one-to-one peer. under development as well, we have a Spanish language, support group. Actually, that one just got kicked off the ground as was mentioned in our team meeting today. and we'd also like to have a broader group, a national group for older adults, and also one that, you know, discusses the, some of the challenges and some of the strategies around balancing work and vision loss.

So this slide is titled Our Peer Support, specialists with the Eye2Eye Logo on the Right. we currently have 12 trained part-time peer support specialists on our team, along with a, a graduate student actually from the department who's been a tremendous help. we, also work with interns, not only from our department, but also from our local, New Jersey Commission.

Blind, training, for our peer support specialists, cover a range of core areas, including models and best practices in peer support, communication skills, active listening and reflective response. there are skills and strategies around motivational interviewing and group facilitation just to name a few.

So this slide is titled our Callers and shows two photos. one is of a woman on a phone, on the phone, and one of a man with a white cane on the phone. Here's a quick look at our callers. So, We've served just over, 900 actually at this point. Clients since first taking calls, in 2019 and growing.

As I mentioned, we've had callers representing, 44 states across the country and counting, people span. Our, our participants span a wide, age range from their twenties to their nineties. although the vast majority. About 70% are age 50 and older, and some common topics here are listed. and I actually, I'm going to let Dina talk more about some of those topics.

but they include some things like accepting and adjusting to vision loss, addressing isolation, navigating relationships, and family. And so I will. Leave that discussion to Dana and actually at this time, so that we have time for questions and labs while I'm gonna turn things over to Dana and she's gonna explain, her personal experience, with vision loss and the peer support process, as a one-time client, an active involved peer support specialist.

Take it

Dana Manson: away, Dina. Great. Thanks Alicia. Yeah, so I'm happy to share with all of you kind of from both ends. so I was a caller of the program in 2020. so I'll talk about kind of what that was like and kind of give you all a picture of what it would be like for folks who do want to call and have some peer support.

And then I eventually did become a peer specialist with us, and took calls myself. so I'll talk about the types of conversations, right? Different topics, you know, types of things that, that we cover in terms of supporting, people with, with vision loss and challenges. so in 2020, which gosh, that was so long ago, Alicia, now that I think about how long I called, you know, I won't go into all the details, but essentially I had a accident and a pretty significant challenge to my vision.

and I could not really use my vision and see, and, At the time, there wasn't much services available for me and we really did not know what to do. I was home living with my parents at the time, mid twenties. Right. Really challenging time, kind of feeling like, Hey, you know, am I supposed to be doing things and I can't even do anything, right?

I don't know how to do anything. I can't. Read my phone. I can barely like navigate my house. I can't cook. I, I can't do anything. Right. That's how it felt. and I remember my parents did not know what to do either, and my father did a Google search and we found Eye2Eye and so, I gave them a call and that was very hard 'cause I didn't even know how to do that.

I'm like trying to ask Siri and it's not working and whatever. I think eventually someone dialed the number for me and I called and you know, I left a message. They called me back. And they paired me up with James, who is, is James still taking calls right now? I'm not sure Alicia, but, he's awesome.

Yep. James is still with us. Great. I wasn't sure if he was taking a break, but, so I was paired up with James, and James and I are very different backgrounds. James is in sixties, right. very different life experience than myself. But it was very, you know, I was nervous to call. I can't lie, I had never spoken to anyone with vision loss, to be frank, right?

I had not had, you know, anyone in my life go through this experience before and it felt very lonely and confusing. And so, you know, when I called and James gave me that first call and he was so nice and told me all about his personal. Story with vision loss and how he went completely blind. How he, you know, the struggle he went through and he raised two kids and, you know, and, and he went through a lot, and kind of gave me that, that hope of, oh, we, there is life, right?

I can do things right. People learn how to live their lives. Without being able to say, right. And with whatever challenges that they do have. And so that was kind of my first, they, oh, right. Me sitting on my couch doing nothing all day. Right. This is not going to be life. Right. This is, this is a temporary thing.

And so, You know, I had multiple calls with James, so I think at the time, it was once a week or once every other week or something we'd talk and, you know, he gave me a lot of information about, you know. Technology. Oh, by the way, you can do anything on your iPhone, right? Oh, I didn't know that. You know?

Or this is how you can use voiceover and how to cook and how to, right. And what he used to put on his hands to be able to cut things, whatever. so it kind of opened my eyes to, oh, this is how people do this, right? And this is how I can do this. And he was able to, to connect me with, Some other organizations Right.

That had some other workshops that I could, you know, learn some more about. Right. Just assistive technology or tools. Right. he introduced me to a few people that he knew that called me and talked to me about, you know, how to do certain things like use my iPhone, and so. Once I kind of learned how to use my phone, that really helped.

And then I kind of spent hours for me every day just teaching myself how to use this stuff. you know, and during that time, I actually applied to graduate school, and went to Rutgers for my MSW. after that. you know, so it was very, very helpful. and I'm very grateful to James, for his support.

You know, I was lucky. My vision did change. It got a little better. but, you know, I still use right, a lot of these supports and things to read and, and all of that stuff. So, but you know, and James really understood the emotional aspect as well, right? He wasn't just giving me information. I remember I, he was encouraging me right to go make a bowl of cereal or something, and I remember I was so excited.

I was like, I'm gonna do this. And I think I poured like, what was it? Apple cider, like it felt like the milk jug poured it into my cereal. And I took a bite and I was like, oh, that was not the milk. Right. And I think my initial reaction was a frustration and disappointment. But then when I talked to James about it, you know, he's laughing.

He is like, oh yeah, you know, I've done it. He was like, I made the best peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich I ever had in my life. Right. So it was nice to talk to someone who got it. And you just don't have that right. So that was very refreshing and James was my cheerleader and it was just a great experience overall, you know, and it got to the point where, right, we had less calls over time 'cause he was able to kind of help me out with finding my path with what I needed to learn how to do and figure out to be able to kind of move forward a little bit.

and so. I started kind of volunteering and working for us during my time in graduate school, and taking some calls myself, which also was very rewarding. So I'll kind of talk about, you know, what the types of, you know, experiences I had as a, as a peer specialist. so I'll say that, right? It's a very, we have a very diverse group of callers who call us as Alicia was saying.

and I think sometimes people call thinking, you know, I need to be matched up with someone who's just like me, who has the same type of vision loss challenge, who's similar in age to myself, but you know, that's not the case. Right. you know, I, I had folks from 18 to nineties, and. Kind of be, and everyone with different types of vision challenges, right?

Some people who could still drive and were, you know, about to lose vision. Some people who are completely blind, right? But, you know, being able to kind of talk about similar types of topics, kind of connect us, right? So, you know, things like kind of when we're, if it's a vision loss, right? Someone loses vision, like that kind of grieving process or you know, kind of that loss of identity and wow, I have to ask for help all the time and what do I do right?

this feels weird. How do I even ask for help? You know, and, and being able to kind of talk through those types of topics or, you know, being able to navigate family dynamics right? And being able to kind of advocate for that independence. While kind of also being able to ask for help and how do you balance those types of things?

You know, so I think there's a lot to connect on, right? Of the challenges and being able to kind of have those discussions, and provide just support with, again, resources, right? How do I meet some other people? What are some organizations that could be helpful? Right? and just kind of tips and strategies.

you know, and I know. As a peer, we are very dedicated to helping people out. So if some one of us, you know, if I had someone who had a question that I didn't know, I would go ask, right? Our, our other peers, like if they could help with something, a resource or, you know, an a tip or something like that. but.

Yeah. So, you know, there's a lot that we try to help people out with and we care a lot about people. Right. I will say though, right, so peer support is different than kind of a, a friend to friend, right? So, Callers are matched with a peer and it's kind of, it's almost like it's mentorship, so to speak, or Right.

Kind of a guidance. and being able to kind of connect, talk about, and kind of set some goals together. Right. What do you want out of this? How can I be helpful to you? Right. And kind of the goal is to help people feel that they are becoming more independent or feeling just more at peace with. What's happening, the emotions of it, right?

And or if people want more friends, right? Trying to help. Connect with, right. Find ways of connection with others. and so, you know, unfortunately it doesn't last forever. but we do offer many calls, many, many calls, right to, to our callers who want that. And some, some people only have a few calls and feel like that's enough.

Right. I've had some people, it's just, you know, more for some information and, and then we've had. People like, you know, for quite a few months or, or so. and then kind of only calling if needed right. As people feel that they've connected to what, what's helpful for them, or again, talked through the challenges that, you know, they're working through.

so yeah. But it's been, you know, it's a very rewarding experience, you know, working with. Others. And unfortunately I don't take as many calls at this point just because I now work as a therapist, outside of Eye2Eye. But, it's very rewarding helping people out and hate healing for myself too, right.

To talk to people going through different challenges that, you know, are relatable as well. yeah, so I think that's kind of. From both ends. Alicia, is there anything else you'd like me to touch on or,

Alicia Lukachko: I, I think you covered a lot, Dana. I, that was, that was great. And then we can respond to any questions. but I do want to talk about how to reach us, which is a critical piece here.

and that is, so, and that's our, our final slide before taking some. Questions, which includes information about how to connect with Eye2Eye, by phone, email, or on our social media accounts. and so, how it works is that callers can reach us either by phone or by email. the phone number, the main phone number is eight three three.

9, 3, 2, 3, 9, 3, 1. And I know this information also, will be shared as a flyer. and, you, you can always feel free to reach out to us. That email address is EYE number two EYE at symbol SHP dot R-U-T-G-E-R s.edu. I to i@hp.rutgers.edu. And, if you reach out to us either by phone or email, all of our peer support specialists work remotely.

So what, we'll ask you to do when you call in, you'll receive, a message that asks you to leave your name and number and we, really strive to call. Back within two to three business days. and then someone will take some information, ask, what you, you might be interested in. and it's really a very short process.

and then at that point, you will be added to a wait list. Again, I, I'm, I'm sorry to say that we do have a wait list right now. However, if you do have more urgent needs, and. You know, really feel like you need to speak with someone sooner rather than later, or you might even benefit from a one time call.

We can a arrange for that. Our peer support specialists, we have one person on call every day. Again, we are not a crisis line. and our peer support specialists are not mental health professionals. However, we do let want to accommodate, callers who have a greater sense of urgency. And so, once you are added to our, our wait list, either as a priority wait list, caller, or.

Or if you, you feel more comfortable, on the regular wait list, then we will, when a peer support specialist becomes available, we will assign, callers to the peer support specialist, will reach out to callers and then determine a. Call frequency schedule with that, with that caller. And we really try to meet, callers and clients where they're at, and, you know, increase or, or decrease those calls, as it meets the, the caller and client needs.

Dana,

Dana Manson: anything else? Yes, please do. Yeah. I think another thing we often, when I was doing our callbacks, got questions about, so we, our main service is one-on-one peer support, right? So that's the main service of Eye2Eye. And then our groups are kind of those additional, right? If you would like to join those.

They're optional. but we have had people, I think there's a few except exceptions, right, Alicia, but the groups. You know, it's, it's not just to join groups. Right. So we are one-on-one is the main service.

Alicia Lukachko: That's correct. That's correct. while we do. So if you are part of our wait list, you can be eligible for certain groups like the new division loss group.

this our group that's intended for spouses and partners. you don't have to be part of the one-to-one peer support program to take part in that group. however, with the others, for the most part, once you're part of our, peer-to-peer program, including being on the wait list, you can participate in, in a number of groups actually, that we're.

Starting to offer here. and once you're assigned to a peer, that peer support specialist, Most of our peer support specialists offer groups, with their, with their clients. And if they're, if they don't offer a group or run a group, facilitate a group, they will, they will make sure that there's an opportunity to join another group.

we really find that that piece with having, not only that one-to-one peer support, but that opportunity to be part of a group and build community, is really e especially helpful. And Dana, I don't know if you just wanna talk a little bit about your, just with the young adults group. is there anything else you wanted to add about that?

Not to put you on the spot, I don't know if there's Oh,

Dana Manson: you're right. Because I didn't talk about kind of what the groups might be like. Right? Yes. Right. That, that experience or, yeah, sure. So I, for a time ran our. Young adult group, which was ages 18 to 30 or 30 or so. Right. Depending on people. Right. Who, you know, if they felt they were a young adult then that you could be in the young adult group.

Right. so I think, I will say every peer probably has a different style in terms of their one-on-one calls as well as groups. But, you know, My group, I would do, we would do kind of an icebreaker type of thing, right? Maybe it was a funny joke or maybe it was your favorite assistive technology, or your favorite way of exercising, or you know, your favorite things of the holiday, right?

Something to just for fun. and then we would do kind of just pick a topic of the day. So for some people, maybe it was forming friendships, maybe it was, you know. Navigating relationships with family members and advocating for that independence or, you know, I've touched on dating right. With the young adult crowd or, you know, that type of stuff.

So, you know, usually we'd have kind of a topic that we would. All discuss and, and go through together. a few times we had fun and just did some trivia questions or something fun, just to kind of form that bond between folks. And what I tried to do, and I'm not sure if they're still running it, is when I, you know, wasn't able to continue running that art.

My old group, you know, I gave them the opportunity to continue outside, right? If they wanted to connect with their consent. Obviously we don't just give people's information to anybody, but for those who consented to, you know, have each other's information, you know, they could connect outside of the group and run their own kind of.

So, but yeah, it was very fun and, you know, it was, I think, very refreshing for everybody to, to connect with other people. So we enjoyed it.

Alicia Lukachko: Thanks so much Dana. And I think that is it in terms of what we have on this end. We'd love to answer any questions that, you all might have.

Jennifer Ottowitz: Great. Well, thank you so much to both of you.

It's so fun hearing about the program, all the work that you're doing. Dana, thank you so much for sharing your personal experience, and it's so exciting that not only were you able to get valuable support, but that you're turning around and turning back around and offering. support to everyone, you know, who may need it, or many people, as many people as you can who may need it.

I know we have some questions in the chat, so we'll go ahead and start with those first and then we'll open it up. Carrie, do you mind reading off one

Karie Pinnix: of the questions? Yeah, I can do that. So the first question is by Judith West, and she asks how many people are on the white list?

Alicia Lukachko: So currently our wait list is around 40.

so we have about, and that is about a two to three month wait list for us. If you're on our wait list, you do have an opportunity to take part in, in a, in a group. and, we do try to assess needs and, address priority needs, more quickly.

Karie Pinnix: Okay. And then the next question is Deborah, sorry if I'm pronouncing this wrong, Solie Ramsey, and she asks, what states are not represented?

Alicia Lukachko: Oh, gosh. It's such a good question.

I wish I had that off my tongue, but please reach out. I'll let you know.

Jennifer Ottowitz: But you said how many states are represented? We'll start with that. 44 are, yes. 44. So yes. Get back at those six.

Okay. I think another one, Carrie.

Karie Pinnix: Yeah. There's another one by Kate Balinski and she asks, I have clients who do not have smartphones and long distance, and it's costly. Does the peer specialist call the person receiving support and then she adds to clarify, they have landlines only.

Alicia Lukachko: Yes. Dana, do you wanna answer that?

Dana Manson: Yes. So the calls are all you as a peer specialist? Yep. They call the the client. Directly. So, and, and usually we try to call multiple times, right? Or there's a set time, I guess I would say, right? So it's like, okay, we're gonna call you at three o'clock on Friday, does that work for you Right next Friday, and then your peer calls you, so hopefully to eliminate your, having to dial the phone and, and go, you know, go through that process.

Jennifer Ottowitz: But that initial call would have to be made by the individual, right? Right. That initial contact.

Dana Manson: Yep. And we've had family members or, or someone, or actually even caseworkers call, as long as the client right is on the call with you. You know, you can say, you know, I have so and so on the line with me.

They're interested in peer support, and here's their phone number, right? So as long as there's consent from the person, and then it'd be preferable if they could say hi, you know, you could pull the phone number.

Alicia Lukachko: Yes, exactly. That goes for email as well. If, if you're calling on behalf of a client and that you wanna, who you wanna refer and cc that person, then we can then follow up and reach out.

Jennifer Ottowitz: Awesome. All right. I think, I think we have some more, Carrie, I'm not sure we do.

Karie Pinnix: We have more, So the next question is by Liz More Soto, and she asked, hi, do you offer these services to Puerto Rico virtually, maybe.

Alicia Lukachko: Oh, so we at the time we do not, but you know, there's actually, there's no reason we couldn't.

So that is, so I would say call in call.

Karie Pinnix: Next question is by Angela Tab. She asks, is there anything that other groups or organizations can assist with to help keep the wait times at a minimum?

Alicia Lukachko: Oh, I, I truly appreciate that. so one thing we do, try to do when with those first calls, and Dana you might also speak to this, if there are resources that we can provide, to callers, you know, that.

Could be beneficial at the time in combination with Eye2Eye. we do offer those, when we first connect with those callers to tell them more about the program. Dana, I know there are times when, when you've offered some, some resources. so it is something we that's particularly helpful, just to be able to, we really wanna be able to connect callers with some supports.

and when they call in, even if we can't offer peer support at that moment. Yeah. Do you wanna add more to that Dana too?

Dana Manson: Yeah. There have been a few times too where right. Maybe someone doesn't need to be priority. Right. But, would benefit from just a one-time call from a peer to really ki exactly like get some resources and to, or just have that just emotional toolbox real quick, while they're waiting.

So, you know, we do our best and obviously right, if someone's been on the wait list and. There's a huge need more immediate concern comes up. Right? They can call or ask us a question. but, you know, I do think those initial resources for people, are helpful. You know, just to have some basic for those who have nothing, right?

To have basic, basic understanding.

Jennifer Ottowitz: Yeah. So then other organizations, maybe state agencies, private agencies, working with individuals, if they can connect with the person and share as many resources as possible, to help. and, and then, you know, including you all as one of those. But then they would have some of those other resources too, to help, to Absolutely.

While they're waiting to get in touch with you and everything as well. Right.

Alicia Lukachko: Thank you. And also we welcome organizations and agencies reaching out to us and really getting to know each other better. having those conversations, if you ever wanna speak with our team, that's, that's incredibly helpful for us as well.

and even just in terms of we enjoy building that community.

Jennifer Ottowitz: All right. Carrie,

Karie Pinnix: any

Jennifer Ottowitz: others?

Karie Pinnix: There's one more. Martha, or two more actually. Martha Moore asked, how long do peer specialists train before taking their first call?

Alicia Lukachko: So our training is about, six hours at this time. We have a, so our department really specializes in peer support and also peer support training.

And we have faculty members who come in, who have. Trained our staff. We also, have a group supervision, where we, the peer support staff come together to, discuss challenges. we do not discuss client needs in that, in that, in those meetings. However, we do talk through challenges. And also there is a, just to add, in addition to training, I am a licensed clinical social worker as my background and I will also consult, for any situations that might raise some red flags, as well as we do try throughout the year to also have other speakers come in to really, you know, continue that professional learning.

Dana Manson: And you can add too, everyone's had a background check to be able to.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Alicia Lukachko: Yes. What To be a, a member of the Rutgers, community or be an employee, you do have to have an extensive background check.

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I think that does speak a little bit to another question that we, we got, I think it was from Angela Kerry, if you saw that.

Karie Pinnix: Yeah. She asked another question.

is there a process for a person sign up to be a peer to assist others?

Jennifer Ottowitz: Yeah. In addition to the training and the background check, is there are and, and are you seeking, do you seek volunteers? Do you, are you at your limit right now? What I would love, so all of our,

Alicia Lukachko: We would love to bring on more peer support specialists, and that is funding dependent.

so at this time, we don't have the funding to bring additional peer support specialists on, but it's something, we are actively seeking additional funding to be able to address the demand. so if you, if anyone is interested in being a peer support specialist with us, I encourage you to reach out, to our email and, you know, if we can.

Have a conversation or send some information. I love to have some folks that I know are interested and available and well at least might be available, but interested and then I can reach out, when, when funding, when additional funding becomes available.

Jennifer Ottowitz: And, I, I, I, I, it brings to mind thinking about organizations that that could help with the waiting list.

If you have, sources of funding that could help, that, that, that, that, that might be really helpful to the Eye2Eye program because then they could, possibly, you know, hire new, more. Peer support folks to help.

Alicia Lukachko: Right. Thank you for mentioning that, Jennifer. I can say that we're having a crowdfunder in honor of Blindness Awareness month, in October.

so feel free to check out our website if

Participant: you

Alicia Lukachko: want to.

Participant: Great.

Karie Pinnix: Michelle Castile has a question she asks. I have a lot of trouble with hotels offering to help with things like navigating. Who do I call about this or who can help me?

Jennifer Ottowitz: I know that's a pretty specific request, so I, if, I don't know if we're, we're able to, if you ladies feel comfortable addressing that here or Michelle, we can maybe reach out to you offline too.

But ladies, if you have any thoughts, I.

Dana Manson: Do you have any thoughts with, I mean, I would say, you know, I think one of our peers probably could help with that question specifically. You know, if you had a question or I don't know if your program as well, Jennifer, can, yeah,

Jennifer Ottowitz: probably, yeah, I would say reaching out to you all, that would be a great, great option.

Yeah. So.

Alicia Lukachko: And I have to say that, if one of our peer support specialists doesn't, isn't aware of a particular resource, they'll definitely do some legwork and research to be able to identify, resources.

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I think too, they can help talk through the whole process of what exactly are the issues, what are, you know, what's the individual doing?

What have they done to try, are those the right things? Is there maybe a different way to phrase things? Is there, different, you know, what, what people are, are the best to get in contact with at the hotels? What are some. What are some tools to help? because sometimes it's, and, and not to, I don't know this particular situation at all, Michelle, so, so forgive me, but, you know, sometimes it's a matter of matching the right tool and having the right expectation too.

I, I would assume too, right, ladies, that in your peer support, you, you talk through all of that with folks, right?

Alicia Lukachko: That's such an excellent point. and Dean, I'm gonna let you speak more to this too, but one piece is around if there are any, barriers that one may be experiencing to accessing a resource.

you know, whether it's a structural one or something that is more, Personal and maybe, you know, psychological that is something that our peers can really work through to identify some of those barriers and really step by step to try to reach that, that goal in, in connecting with a resource and engaging in those services.

we don't, we don't provide case management, but we absolutely do help clients, with addressing some of those challenges in utilizing the resources that are available. And Dana, would you like to add to that?

Dana Manson: Yeah, sure. Exactly. And I think that's why I don't wanna jump the gun and just answer as kind of you mentioned.

Yeah, yeah. Right. Because I think oftentimes it's part of a broader conversation of what have we tried, right? What has it looked like? you know, maybe there are some resources out there, but yeah, kind of. Helping understand more, in more detail, right, what the challenges are, and kind of collaborate on, on a possible solution or a next step to try, or maybe someone else to talk to about maybe what they've done, you know, in those situations.

Jennifer Ottowitz: Absolutely. And I appreciate, I know we've got some, some, responses in the chat already jumping in with some possible thoughts. Awesome. I met, yeah, meta glasses, contacting an orientation mobility instructor just for, you know, to make sure, you know, for, for assistance with any. Navigational skills with travel, things like that.

and to tap into resources they may be aware of too. So, so, you know, I think, you know, we are, we're all help helpful people in this field, so we all gotta jump in to wanna offer some suggestions and, and options and everything. So that's great. Thanks everybody for, for chiming in. and I'll say if you do have questions, you can feel free to unmute yourself too.

we don't have to just limit it to talking in the. In the chat, but

I did see a response. So Michelle, thank you so much. I'm glad that you're find, hopefully you'll, you'll look into it and, and finding information help you. Thank you. Yes. I appreciate

Dana Manson: it greatly. Thank

Jennifer Ottowitz: you. Thank you. Thank you for your question too. Any other questions for Alicia or Dana? And then we're getting good, good, positive comments in, in the, in the chat ladies for thanking you for your presentation.

Alicia Lukachko: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having us. We really appreciate it. Again, this opportunity to share more about our program. It's been so wonderful getting to know you all too.

Jennifer Ottowitz: You are so welcome. I, I would just, one question I had and, and just because I mentioned earlier that, that your services are available to people, at any stage in vision loss.

I, I know that a lot of times, for folks new to vision loss, I'm sure that that's probably a. Large percentage of the folks that you work with, but, but you don't, you're not restrictive to that, right? You will work with folks who maybe diagnosis could have been six months ago, years ago, but they may still be having issues with adjusting or finding resources, things like that, right?

So absolutely various stages of vision loss and

Alicia Lukachko: yes. And, you know, sometimes someone might have had a diagnosis or been experiencing some degree of vision loss over some time, and then there might be a, a change that's occurred that is, is, you know, has a more meaningful impact in their life or a context has changed.

And so that adjustment is, has become difficult.

Jennifer Ottowitz: We, we often say that that process starts all over again. Right. so yeah, for sure. All right. Well, any other questions?

All right. Well, we thank, thank you again so much, Alicia and Dana for sharing this valuable resource. we hope that you'll check out the flyer on our website. Again, the recording will be available next week, so please share it with, with your colleagues and friends and anyone that, that, you know, family members of someone.

Who's experiencing vision loss? this is such a great resource and it really does speak to, thinking about barriers. you know, just making sure there are no barriers, having a phone-based service where, the peer support specialist call out and call the individual, so the person doesn't have to worry about dealing with the phone.

it's such a, it's such a nice thing. And, So thank you again. we hope that all of you listening Will, will, just check out this resource, share this resource, as a way to help build connections and resilience through peer support. So, until next time, we thank you and look forward to you joining us at one of our upcoming webinars.

Thank you everyone. Thanks so much. Thank you.

This has been OIB TAC’s monthly webinar. Thanks for tuning in. Find recordings of our past webinars on our YouTube channel, and discover all of our many resources at OIB-TAC.org. That's O I B T A C .org, like us on social media, and share our resources with your colleagues and friends. Until next time.