Better Vision for a Brighter Future

Angels for Sight is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, community-based clinic  committed to providing free vision screenings, eye examinations, and glasses to uninsured, underserved populations throughout Southern California who otherwise would not have access to such services, at no cost to them or their families.  Since 2007, our work has been invested in preventing blindness, and other vision related problems, that arise from lack of access to quality health care.  To do so, we have designed various programs that intend to serve our target populations, which include: children, seniors, the homeless, veterans, and the working poor.  

Due to economic hardship,  families are often forced to prioritize immediate needs, such as food, shelter, and transportation.  As a result, vision becomes an overlooked component of health care, especially among seniors, children, and those vulnerable to homelessness.  The fact also remains that services needed to address vision-related concerns are not always readily available.  Even with the Affordable Care Act we have seen an increase in the number of patients seeking our services.

Originally, we were established to assist children being labeled as illiterate (when in fact 1 in 4 children cannot see well enough to read). However, we became aware of the large population of seniors, veterans, homeless, and working poor individuals who needed our assistance. Through our work, we have found that African Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups, are disproportionately affected by serious vision-related problems, including but not limited to: diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, obesity, glaucoma, cataracts, and advanced retina and macular degenerative diseases.  However, when these diseases were detected they were beyond their reversible stages mostly due to poverty.   We found that within Los Angeles County alone, approximately 30% of the population lives below the poverty line.  Thus, Angels for Sight works to ensure that individuals have access to screenings, examinations, and glasses to treat vision loss and vision impairment, at no cost to them or their families.

To date, Angels for Sight has provided vision screenings for over 10,500 individuals, 1,550 veterans, and 3,200 children, and we have provided over 4,275 individuals with eye examinations and glasses.   In the past year, we provided approximately 5,000 individuals with vision screenings, as well as an estimated 1,550 with comprehensive eye examinations and glasses.

Overall, funding will enable Angels for Sight to increase its impact and reach vulnerable individuals desperately in need of assistance. Our experience, knowledge, and turn-key service delivery model enables us to quickly mobilize and meet the need, as well as effectively measure our impact. With your contribution, we will increase our ability to continue championing for vision care in the communities we serve.