On the importance of vision

Yesterday, I went to the Mary Howard Health Center in Philadelphia. The Center, which provides health care to the city's homeless population, was announcing it is expanding its services to include vision care. Well, the first thing I thought of was Bagar and the Eye Camp and how I was so skeptical of how many people were in need of vision care - and then 1,000 people showed up. Eyes and teeth aren't the first thing one considers when it comes to health care. But imagine not being able to see. And other health issues, like hypertension and anemia can identified through an eye exam. As one doctor yesterday put it, "an eye exam can often be an entry point into the health care system."

At the Health Center, I met a woman named Constance. For years, she was homeless. Through Travelers Aid of Philadelphia, she has been in permanent housing for two years. She was a pleasure - witty, funny and so empowered! She has a few eye issues - poor sight, glaucoma, a slight cataract - so she does go for regular eye exams. But she's getting a stronger prescription for her glasses for the first time in three years. She has needed the stronger prescription for a long time, but hasn't been able to because her insurance doesn't cover the cost of new glasses.

Cosntance is on the boards of various organizations - Homes for the Homeless, the Homeless Advocacy Project, etc. Not the image I would have of a homeless person. I was interviewing her for a radio story and we got into a discussion about Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and how difficult it is to eat healthy food and how the people who decide what glasses cost or how much someone receives in food stamps never actually had to buy food or glasses on a monthly budget of $660.40.

She was so excited about the new vision care program at the Health Center because being able to see or being able to get rid of constant headaches is a big deal for people who don't have much.