Meet Toni Hess

At 49, her only option was to live the rest of her days in a nursing home, now she volunteers at one . . "

Toni came to WSB abandoned by friends and family under the worst of circumstances. Told by her daughter that she no longer had power of attorney, Toni's own income was stolen monthly leaving her unable to buy personal care items, medicine, or even feed herself. Under the care of her daughter, Toni was denied the medications needed to prevent her blood clots, resulting in multiple strokes that left her blind and unable to retain information.

At one point, they mocked her, telling her that there was no use in complaining about the food they gave her, because she couldn't see it anyway. Tonie says about the experience,

" I ate it because I was hungry and it’s all they would serve me..... I had no other choice."

Today, Toni's life has full meaning and purpose. After learning how to live with her blindness and short term memory at World Services for the Blind, she is thriving in her next chapter. Toni now lives in Alaska with her son, where she independently takes her own medications, cooks, cares for their home, and volunteers at a local nursing home visiting patients who are lonely. Toni credits the life skills program at WSB for teaching her how to use technology such as the Vector Reader to do day to day chores and live a life of Sustainable Independence.