
MBTA’s Suspension of Bus Route 52 Affects Carroll Center for the Blind
BY EMILY KRAUS (VIA THE HEIGHTS) Public transportation is more than just a way to travel between two destinations for some Newton residents. For students and staff at the Carroll Center for the Blind, bus route 52—which was recently suspended—was also an essential learning resource. The route was suspended as part of the MBTA’s “Forging [...]

Carroll Center for the Blind to Host the Virtual 9th Annual Walk for INDEPENDENCE
The event, which raises awareness and helps transform the lives of children, teens, adults, and seniors who are blind or have low vision, adds an all-new virtual 5K run and Blindfold Challenge option. NEWTON, Mass. (March 29, 2021) – The Carroll Center for the Blind, one of the largest vision rehabilitation agencies in the country, [...]

PLAN of MA & RI and Carroll Center for the Blind Announce Strategic Partnership
Plan of MA & RI also shows support of organization with $50,000 donation. NEEDHAM and NEWTON, MA, and PROVIDENCE, RI (March 25, 2021) – Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Inc. (PLAN of MA & RI; www.planofma-ri.org/), a nonprofit organization proudly serving people with disabilities and assisting them with preserving assets, protecting [...]

Blind, Visually Impaired Mass. Voters Have Variety of Options
BY CHRIS LARABEE (VIA THE DAILY FREE PRESS) Blind and visually impaired voters can access electronic ballots, special voting machines and help from a family member or friend to exercise their suffrage in Massachusetts. Secretary of State spokesperson Debra O’Malley said voters who applied for a mail-in ballot could request an electronic ballot. Voters approved [...]

Why Reddit Has Become A Favorite Social Media Platform for Many Blind and Visually Impaired People
BY RACHEL E. GREENSPAN (VIA INSIDER) The Reddit logo, featuring a smiling alien with a single antennae on his head, is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. [Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]Samuel Proulx, a 32-year-old blind man living in Ottawa, Ontario, isn't that interested in using traditional social media. Proulx doesn't find Instagram and [...]

LEGO System Helps People Who Are Visually Impaired Reach New Heights at Rock Climbing Gym
BY DANA JACOBSON (VIA CBS NEWS) An aerial view from above Matthew Shifrin as he scales a rock climbing wall at an indoor climbing gym. BOSTON (CBS) – A 22-year-old blind entrepreneur is working to make rock climbing more accessible to the visually impaired. For its “Pushing The Limits” series, CBS This Morning profiled Matthew [...]

Lyft is Offering Free Rides to Voters Who Need Them This Election Season
BY SYEDA KHAULA SAAD (VIA BUSTLE) Photo Credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images In the 2016 general election, it's estimated that about 40% of American voters didn't cast a ballot. And according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, about 15 million of those people didn't make it out to the polls because of transportation [...]

Haben Girma: My Disability Has Been an Opportunity for Innovation
BY DANNY LEE (VIA THE GUARDIAN) A side profile close-up of deafblind lawyer and activist, Haben Girma. The cafeteria menu was only available in print when 19-year-old Haben Girma started at Lewis & Clark college in Portland, Oregon. “I asked the cafeteria manager to provide something that I as a deafblind student could access,” she [...]

How to Fix Higher Ed’s Accessibility Problem
BY CAITLIN R. WEINER (VIA MODUS) If a college education should be available to all, higher ed websites should be accessible to everyone. An Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit was recently issued to 50 colleges and universities by a blind prospective student who felt the schools’ websites were not accessible. Not just tiny schools, either — big [...]

‘A whole new world of freedom’: Sailors with Disabilities Compete at an Elite Level
On the water, it's a level playing field for sailors of all abilities to compete. BY WILL LINENDOLL (VIA GOOD MORNING AMERICA) Pauline Dowell may never be able to drive a car, but she can sail a boat around the world. Pauline Dowell. a sailor who is visually impaired, competes in competitions around the world. [...]