Sights for Hope Serves Heightened Needs Among Monroe County Residents

Monroe County has the sixth highest population of older adults with visual impairments and blindness among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, and Sights for Hope has worked continually to serve its people since 2002.

Among Monroe County adults ages 65 and up, 7.3% have difficulty seeing while wearing glasses or are blind, according to studies from The Ohio State University and the VisionServe Alliance. Pennsylvania’s overall rate is 6.0%. Among adults ages 18-64, Monroe County has the 11th largest population with visual impairments and blindness at 2.7%.

Sights for Hope provides a full slate of rehabilitative and preventive programs and services to the region from its Monroe Services Center near Stroudsburg, PA. Approximately 20% of Sights for Hope’s clients live in Monroe County, and Sights for Hope performs about 35% of its pre-kindergarten vision screenings there annually.

Sights for Hope supporters can make a heightened impact on Monroe County during next week’s NEPA Gives event, held by the Scranton Area Community Foundation. All contributions made to Sights for Hope through the NEPA Gives platform from 7 p.m. on June 5 to 7 p.m. on June 6 will be matched up to $1,000 from NEPA Gives sponsors, and all NEPA Gives contributions will support Monroe County services directly.

In 2002, Visual Impairment and Blindness Services (VIABL) – one of the organizations consolidated in 2010 as what is known today as Sights for Hope – expanded its Northampton County operation at the request of people in Monroe County. Sights for Hope is supported extensively in Monroe County by organizations such as the Pocono Mountains United Way, the LVHN-Pocono Foundation, the Lester G. Abeloff Foundation, and the Dale and Frances Hughes Foundation.

Image: A beaming man wearing a “Veteran” cap is joyfully embraced by two women in blue “Live United” shirts. They stand outside, exuding warmth and camaraderie.