When clinicians at the inner-city clinic examined Christopher’s* eyes, they could tell immediately why the elementary school student was having difficulty in school. Christopher’s vision was so limited, he could see less than an inch in front of him.
For kids like Christopher, the struggle to see can lead to academic failure, behavioural issues and a loss of self-confidence that can affect them for the rest of their lives. But for too many Canadian families, eye care is financially out of reach.
In August, as they’ve done for the past three years, WOVS clinicians and students hold a pop-up clinic that’s making a visible difference for kids in one of Toronto’s most under-served neighbourhoods.
For two days, the cafeteria at CW Jefferys Collegiate Institute, in the heart of the Jane and Finch neighbourhood, becomes an eye clinic, equipped with everything you’d find in an optometrist’s office.
An ongoing need
The team – all of whom volunteer their time – treated hundreds of kids aged 4 to 14 and prescribed 72 pairs of glasses. And everything was provided free of charge, thanks to the generosity of sponsors in the eye care industry, including Centennial Optical, Hilco Vision, HOYA, Innova Medical, Lanctot, Liberty Sport, Marchon, Modo, and OGI.
Judging by the number of children seen at the clinic, it’s obvious that the neighbourhood has an ongoing need for subsidized eye care. The challenge is to make the project sustainable.
To do that, WOVS Clinic Director Andre Stanberry hopes to build relationships with local optometrists who might be interested in coming on board as volunteers.
And in the long run, he says, “we want to inspire children and other community members to pursue occupations in eye care and then return to the community to provide this kind of service.”
Highlighting gaps in eye care
Helping one child see is a beautiful thing but WOVS outreach initiatives, like the CW Jefferys project, also have the potential to help hundreds of kids across Canada. With the anonymized data collected at the clinic, researchers will be able to track eye health in this under-served population over a number of years.
“We can also survey the impact of visual aids on academic performance for this cohort of children,” Andre says.
Plans are also underway to launch a clinic on a First Nations reservation in northern Ontario. The goal is to reduce the barriers to adequate eye and vision care for children in this community.
“We intend to provide comprehensive eye examinations to all the children living on the reservation,” Andre says. “Through these programs we hope to highlight the gaps in eye care and develop programs that can be used to address these needs.”
The CW Jefferys and First Nations clinics are just some of the ways that WOVS is helping kids see their way to a brighter future. If you’re interested in volunteering or supporting the School’s outreach efforts, please connect with Andre. Thank you for helping us make a visible difference for children in need.
*name has been changed
