LIONS CENTER FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Kellie Robison, 62, of Oakley has been a client of the Lion’s Center for the Visually Impaired in Pittsburg since she began losing her vision as a child. The nonprofit helped her learn Braille and taught her how to navigate new situations using a mobility instructor. JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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By Joan Morris

Correspondent

Kellie Robison knew when just a youngster that she was going blind.

The 62-year-old Oakley woman was born sighted, but it soon became apparent that she couldn’t see well. Her older sister was born with the same vision-robbing disease, and their mother knew the signs.

In some ways, Robison says, she was lucky. Although her vision deteriorated with alarming rapidity as she approached her teen years, she was able to start preparing for a life of blindness, largely through the assistance of the Lions Club, and the Lions Center for the Visually Impaired, a 70-year-old nonprofit based in Pittsburg.

“I’ve had a relationship with Lions for years, probably starting when I was a preteen,” Robison said. “The doctors told my mother to have me start learning Braille before I lost my vision. The Lions had a Braille section at the Oakland library where I’d check out Braille books. Their selection was better than what the school library had.”

The Lions center provides three lines of assistance, said Yolanda Braxton, executive director. The Center’s trained staff visit the home and look at what’s available and what the client might need. Disabilities can lead to isolation and loneliness, so the Center provides activities that bring people together. Center staff organize vision screenings at senior facilities and housing to look for vision loss and other issues.

“Whether they were born with vision loss or acquired it,” Braxton said, “it doesn’t really matter. We make sure they are supported, and make sure they have the best quality of life.”

Robison ran her own business for 40 years, doing massage therapy. Once she learned the layout of a new building she could manage well with her cane, but the initial learning wasn’t easy, so the center provided her with mobility instructors.

“A regular sighted person couldn’t teach me how to maneuver around a situation,” Robison said. “All my mobility instructor has to say is one little thing and I can pull the whole puzzle together.”