CNIB for veterans, started by veterans

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Published on Friday, November 20, 2015

By Jackie Lay

Communications Specialist

With Veterans Day on Nov. 10 and Remembrance Day on Nov. 11 just passed, Canadian National Institute of the Blind (CNIB) wants to raise awareness of the services available to veterans and remind people of its long-standing history with veterans.

“CNIB was not only created by a number of veterans but started after World War I because of the needs of veterans,” says Garry Nenson, regional vice-president of CNIB in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

CNIB was founded in 1918 by a group of men – several of whom had served in the military – who recognized the need to support their fellow veterans returning home blind after the First World War. Two of the founders were not only veterans, but also lost their eyesight in the war. Alexander Viets was blinded by a mortar explosion in France and Edwin Baker was wounded and lost the sight in both his eyes. 

Today, no matter whether their vision loss is combat-related or simply a factor of aging, CNIB offers personalized rehabilitation support to Canadian veterans of all ages – at no cost – to help them lead full, active lives.  

“CNIB has a longstanding relationship with the men and women of Canada’s military, and we’re proud to continue that tradition to this day – by reaching out to veterans across Canada, and offering them programs and services that can help them lead full, active lives with vision loss.” 

If you’re a Canadian veteran and you’ve experienced a loss of vision that’s affecting your life, CNIB can help you:  

• Work through your emotions with support from people who care and understand.

• Access helpful products at Shop CNIB, like talking watches and large-button phones. What’s more, the costs of many of these products are covered for you by Veterans Affairs Canada.

• Build your independence with personalized support in everything from travelling, to cooking, to identifying money.

• Maintain your love of reading with books, newspapers and magazines in easy-to-use audio from the CNIB library.