By Fiona Woods

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The National Policy Council (NPC) welcomed two new members in December. Joanne Chua joined us as a third Board representative, along with Helen Frerris and myself and David Morrell was appointed to represent Tasmanian members.  I would like to thank departing members, Doug McGinn and Greg Madson, for their contributions to the NPC since its inception. Our NPC discussions frequently illuminate the many differences between our states and territories and the importance of BCA accessing good local knowledge.

The value of consultation needs no proving at BCA, but the NPC’s recent consultation around our draft Blindness Service Provider Expectations policy again demonstrated the value of asking members what you think. Thank you to everyone who took the time to call, email or join a meeting. We are currently integrating and reflecting on your many valuable suggestions and observations. I am sure this will result in a document which is genuinely useful to blind and vision impaired people seeking high quality services which meet our needs. You will hopefully be hearing more about this policy at Convention, where I look forward to meeting and discussing policy matters (and others) with many of you.

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By Rikki Chaplin

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I’m sure I’m not alone in having had a fear of staying in places which are totally unfamiliar to me. I wonder sometimes whether it’s one of those taboo topics for people who are blind or vision impaired. We are so often told that we should be fearless; that we can accomplish anything, and we need to educate the community about our level of competence.

While it’s certainly true that we can achieve anything we set our minds to, the implication that navigating these unfamiliar places and situations isn’t and shouldn’t be stressful is unfair to us all. Even those in our community whom we regard as most competent and accomplished face these moments of stress and anxiety. It is not that we should never feel such anxiety, or feel guilty when we do. Rather, it is how we manage that anxiety, and whether or not we allow it to stand in our way when we try new things or have to cope with unforeseen circumstances. After a recent travel mishap which I managed to survive reasonably well, I thought I should write about the experience of coping with it on my own as a person who is totally blind.

I regularly fly on my own to the US. This time, on my return journey, I was delayed for 24 hours in Dallas, Texas, due to my previous flight being late and my flight to Sydney having been closed by the time I arrived. I was taken to the QANTAS counter, where eventually the very helpful clerk booked me into a hotel room. It was this development which provoked my anxiety.

Many people who are totally blind stay in unfamiliar places all the time, but strangely, I have rarely had to do this. I’ve always had someone with me, or at least a colleague staying in another room close by. So navigating the hotel and getting what I needed has not been an issue. My anxiety was exacerbated by my hearing loss, which I’ve mentioned in previous articles. Dallas is a place where English is not the primary language of many people. Accented English is therefore common. I often have to ask people to repeat what they are saying. This gets wearing for both parties.

Add to this my concern that the telecoils on my hearing aids mightn’t work with the phone in the hotel room. These days, they usually do, but the uncertainty was weighing on my mind. Thankfully, I found that the phone was loud enough for me to hear via telecoils, so I was able to order room service.

In this instance, the staff who assisted me were excellent. As I had a considerable time to wait, I asked to stay in the room for a few extra hours past checkout time, as I had nowhere else to go. Still, I was questioned by staff who were unaware of this arrangement, about why I was still in the room after checkout time, and whether I was staying another night. Thankfully, they believed me.

The same person who assisted me to my room picked me up, as arranged, at 6 PM the following day, and took me to a restaurant for dinner, where again, the staff were very helpful. The clerk on the QANTAS counter called me to check that I would make it to the airport on time. She said she would watch out for me. Now that’s service! The hotel arranged a private car to take me there, and I was assisted to the counter, arriving with time to spare.

The worst part of that experience was being on the fifth floor of a hotel in a room for hours on end, and thinking: “I could die in here and nobody would know”. In reality, there were people who knew where I was. I could also use my mobile to call and text, though I had to borrow a charger from the hotel as all my leads were packed in my suitcase.

So how did I manage the anxiety? The key strategy for me was to take things minute by minute when necessary, to allow myself to feel that I could cope and not become overwhelmed. I reminded myself of the resources I did have with me. I had Aira if necessary, my mobile once I got hold of a charger, and my computers. I had to tell myself that I was not cut off from the outside world, even though it felt like it. My partner was in Louisiana, just a call or text away. So although physically I was alone, I was able to talk to someone about what steps to take next.

Some of us are naturally more adventurous than others, and that’s OK. But it’s important to understand that if you are confronted with an unexpected situation, even one you’ve feared in the past, you will have the ability to deal with it, so long as you don’t allow anxiety to take over. Recognise the anxiety, and put it in its place by coping minute to minute. It is you who is in control, not the anxiety.

This experience has allowed me to feel that I can indeed stay in an unfamiliar hotel if I need to, and cope with getting my needs met. I no longer fear it as I once did. But the biggest practical lesson, and one which I hope we can all benefit from, is that anxiety is manageable and we should not feel guilty for having it. We should simply acknowledge it, and manage it appropriately, by thinking slowly and methodically, and breaking the situation down into its smallest parts.

Editor’s Note

If you liked or learned from Rikki’s advice, there’ll be more on offer at our National Convention. One of the panels will feature tips on “taking the stress out of travelling alone”. We’re sure this will be an enlightening and encouraging session for anyone planning an independent trip, be it locally or internationally.

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By John Simpson

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It has been an exciting and productive time for BCA recently. On Saturday, 1 December, we held our 43rd Annual General Meeting in Melbourne. We were delighted to have over 50 members attend and participate in Melbourne and Sydney, and that more than 20 people joined us via the live stream as observers.

Our CEO, Emma Bennison, and I reported on a very successful year for BCA, and Treasurer Dan Stubbs reported on BCA’s financial position. Both reports can be found on the publications page on our website, and are available in a range of formats upon request.

The results of elections for the President, Directors, and National Policy Council representatives, notified to members previously, were formally announced, and Bill Jolley, Chair of the Jeffrey Blyth Foundation, provided a comprehensive report. Sincere thanks to members for their participation in our AGM, whether in Melbourne, in Sydney or via the stream.

The Board also met face-to-face in Melbourne, on Sunday 2 and Monday 3 December. The first order of business was to fill the casual vacancy for a Director, following the election process. I am delighted to advise that Rocco Cutri, from Sydney, accepted the Board’s invitation to fill this position.

Office holders for the coming year were also elected, so the current BCA Directors are:

• John Simpson, President
• Helen Freris, Vice-President
• Dan Stubbs, Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Fiona Woods, Chair, National Policy Council
• Mick Baker, Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Stephen Belbin, Branch Liaison, Chair, NSW/ACT Coordinating Committee and Diversity Committee
• Joanne Chua: National Policy Council, Communications Committee and Diversity Committee
• Rocco Cutri, Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Prue Watt, Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee and Communications Committee.

The meeting also included board induction; ratification of a number of operational policies; discussion of how the board can better contribute to BCA’s communications mechanisms; and strategic planning, with a particular focus on broadening our reach and membership. If you’d like to know more about the board’s deliberations, you can listen to New Horizons, Episode 583, which is available via our website, as a podcast or through the Vision Australia library.

I have been honoured to serve as your President for the last two years, and I am delighted to now have your support to continue to serve members and people who are blind or vision impaired more generally. Thanks to the commitment of members, board and staff, BCA has made significant progress towards rebuilding its reputation as the united voice of Australians who are blind or vision impaired, but there’s much still to do.

At the AGM, I indicated that my focus over the next three years would be on continuing to ensure BCA delivers on its mission, particularly in five areas:

• Building on the success of BCA’s work in relation to leadership development, to ensure that at all levels of the organisation, we support and nurture current and aspiring leaders.
• Ensuring we engage more effectively with diverse communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, young people, women and people living in regional and remote Australia.
• Maintaining and increasing communication and consultation with members and stakeholders to ensure BCA represents the interests of all Australians who are blind or vision impaired.
• Ensuring BCA remains sustainable and growing into the future.
• And above all, doing all I can to ensure that one or more of our aspiring leaders is fully prepared to take over in this role when my term ends in three years’ time.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to talk with members about the work of our organisation, and their aspirations and concerns for our future.

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Dear Editor,

Following my previous Letter to the Editor, when an elderly woman passenger on our train in Perth complained loudly for all to hear, that a blind child had no future at all, I decided to do some peer support work. I chose the retirement village where I live, and offered to talk about some of the tips and tricks blind and vision impaired people use to assist them to live and work.

There were not as many people present as I had hoped, however I spoke for nearly two hours, showing several items to assist around the house; explained about raised dots to mark my microwave and washing machine to identify where to operate correctly; gave some tips about using telephones and remotes without actually having to concentrate on a tiny screen; and told some stories about having a dog guide and using my white cane.

People were amazed to feel bank notes with the raised dots on them, and I explained that one can use EFTPOS machines by radiating from the raised dot on the 5 outwards to select the numbers wanted. I think people were very interested in what I had to say, and I know I could have spoken even longer if time was available. Questions were asked, and they were quite easy to answer. One woman told our walking group that I was fantastic.

I do like to give back to the community, and feel that some of the items I depend on are just as useful for those with blurred vision or those with some other eyesight conditions like short or long sightedness. I am always happy to chat to others about how people like myself manage to live independently and successfully. There are some barriers, but not many.

I hope that other people will take any opportunity they can to educate our fellow Australians. It is not as hard as you might think.

Regards,

Karen Passmore, in Perth

***

Thank you, Karen, for this sequel to your last letter. I really admire your proactive response to an unpleasant and frustrating incident. While educating people may be easy and sometimes rewarding, I think it’s important to remember that it’s also generous. People without disabilities don’t have to prove to others that they’re capable of simple and mundane tasks.

Some people believe it shouldn’t be our responsibility to explain ourselves, and I agree with them. But we don’t live in the ideal world yet, and building it will take some work. So as a pragmatist, I admire your generosity, and I’ll try to follow your example.

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By Jonathan Craig

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Welcome to the first edition of Blind Citizens News for 2019. The first of four. It has been nearly 12 years since this magazine was last published quarterly, and though it was one of my goals when I took on this role, I wasn’t at all sure we could manage it. So though I’ve already discussed this on New Horizons, I am going to take a few moments here to explain why I think this is such an important milestone.

When, just over a year ago, Emma Bennison first offered me this role, I was as terrified as I was tempted. I didn’t feel I had the leadership skills of the Editors I’d known, and worried that my age and comparative lack of experience would raise very reasonable questions for some members. Should a 27-year-old be put in charge of BCA’s flagship publication? Can someone so new to BCA appreciate the importance of its work?

Of course, I soon found that my misgivings were misguided. As Emma had likely predicted, many of you felt that new blood was exactly what the magazine needed. My barrage of ideas has been met with respect and enthusiasm, and staff and members have worked as hard as I have to bring some of them about. I’ve also been gratified by the support I’ve received from some of our community’s most accomplished leaders. But the most rewarding part of my job thus far, which I could never have imagined a year ago, has been the incredible support I’ve received from all of you.

We’re resuming quarterly publication thanks to your renewed engagement and enthusiasm. You answered my calls for submissions with so much brave, thoughtful and intriguing work that one of my greatest challenges has been finding space to publish it all. Feedback around my first two issues has been overwhelmingly positive, and shows that all of you share my belief in what Blind Citizens News can achieve.

Reaching this goal isn’t my victory, and I can take very little credit for it. All my education and skill would have had no impact if there weren’t a proactive and vibrant community for me to work with. In these loud and complex times, cynicism and apathy can feel like self-preservation. As a group, we resisted those temptations, even after a period of internal strife, and started talking about what to do next.  I believe that’s a victory for all of us.

So whether you’re a reader or writer, thank you for everything you’ve done to revitalise this magazine. It has been a privilege to work with all of you, and I intend to honour that privilege by striving to be a better editor. As part of that commitment, I’ve enrolled in the peer mentoring and leadership programs BCA is conducting this year. I will doubtless speak to some of you there, and I hope to meet more of you at our National Convention. I’m looking forward to both these opportunities to be part of new stories and conversations.

After a busy few months for BCA, this issue is a chance to take stock of recent events. We take a look back at our very successful AGM and State Conventions, and our ongoing TV4All social media campaign to raise awareness of Audio Description, which seems to be gaining momentum. In our campaign against touch screen EFTPOS terminals, the news is not as good, and our much-needed explainer of My Aged Care reveals the extent of on-going problems in that sector as well.

We also travel somewhat further into the past, with Vaughn Bennison’s subjective but thorough look at the history of communication methods for people who are blind or vision impaired. And after a day stranded in Dallas, Rikki Chaplin offers some advice on keeping calm when travel goes wrong.

While you’re enjoying this issue, I’ll already be working on the next one, which will arrive in May. As always, I’m eager for your contributions, from stories about your personal experience to suggestions about what you’d like us to cover in future. Submissions close on Friday, March 15. For more info, please see the guidelines at the end of this edition.

I’m confident this year will see us celebrating more victories, and grappling with new challenges in these pages. I hope you’re as excited as I am.

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