How can I organise a blindfold walk?
Blindfold walks can help anyone who has responsibility for, or works in, a street environment or on the highways to have a better understanding of the mobility issues faced by people who are blind or partially sighted. This includes people such as MPs, local councillors and refuse collectors.
Sim-specs offer a great insight into the challenges faced by those with sight loss; you can get them from Visual Impairment North East. Participants can walk around wearing the specs, demonstrating the impact numerous obstacles and barriers in the street have on a person's ability to navigate safely. We recommend you have someone from a local society, local authority or RNIB train you in using sim-specs before you use them at an event.
If possible, try to get a group of people with different experiences of sight loss together to give a more balanced view of navigation and mobility. While sim-specs can simulate sight loss, they don't explain everything.
People with sight loss have different experiences of navigating through streets depending on their sight condition, their age, what mechanisms or aids they use, and how long they have been living with sight loss.
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