A NEW project which aims to tackle loneliness and improve the quality of life of people with sight loss in Ryedale has been awarded a share of a £400,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

The funding has been awarded following a successful bid from national sight loss charity RNIB for the Optimeyes project, which will run across Yorkshire and the Humber and South Lincolnshire with the support of several partner organisations.

In the Ryedale area, the scheme will be delivered by Sight Support Ryedale. The other partner organisations are Hull and East Riding Institute for the Blind, Selby District Vision, Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind, South Lincolnshire Blind Society and York Blind and Partially Sighted Society.

The scheme aims to identify older people who are experiencing problems with their vision and refer them on to local health, social and charity services which can provide them with additional support.

Janice Every, chief officer of Sight Support Ryedale, said: “We are delighted to be working with RNIB and the other local sight-loss charities to deliver this innovative project in the area.

“We know from our own experience locally that there are many people with sight loss, especially in the early stages, who are not receiving any support, information or advice. This funding is going to enable us to reach more people who have, or are at risk of, sight loss.”

The project will be facilitated by working with other local organisations such as fire and rescue services during home visits.

During the two-year scheme, staff and volunteers from other organisations will be trained to use RNIB’s eye screening tool, which will detect possible sight loss so that people can then be referred for an eye test or signposted to services in their local area which may be of benefit to them.

Philippa Simkiss, head of evidence and service impact at RNIB, said: “Living with sight loss can have a huge impact on someone’s life and present new challenges on a daily basis. Many older people in particular accept this as an unavoidable part of getting older and don’t realise that there are local services out there which can make a big difference.”

For more information, visit sightsupportryedale.org or call 01653 698860 or to find out about support available.