The Carroll Center for the Blind

Eighty-six years ago, the Carroll Center for the Blind was founded as the country’s first residential rehabilitation center for newly blinded adults. Originally, the Center provided individuals transitioning to blindness and low vision with financial aid, clothing, talking books, recreational activities, transportation, employment seeking assistance, and organized reading circles. Yet, over the next seven (7) decades, the Carroll Center expanded to serve individuals of all ages and all stages of vision loss through our Community, Education, Low Vision, Technology, and Vision Rehabilitation Services. Our mission is to empower all those who are blind and visually impaired to achieve independence and lead a fulfilling life. In more recent years, the Carroll Center has continued to expand services offered to those who are living with significant vision loss. To develop sustainable revenue sources, our Carroll Store was established in 2009 and became the largest adaptive device store for persons with vision loss in the Northeast. To address the national shortage of Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) and other blindness professionals, in 2018 the Carroll Center partnered with the Gibney Family Foundation to create CarrollInterns to provide college students with paid internships at the Center. In 2021, we designed our pilot Screen Reader User Tester Training Program. In an age of rapidly evolving technologies, the ability for persons who are blind or visually impaired to fully participate in community, educational, or employment opportunities demands that they can independently navigate and interact with increasingly complex digital content such as websites and mobile applications. We also expanded our services to provide quality services to younger individuals with visual impairments. During the summer months, children, teens, and young adults learn independence skills, explore vocational interests through internships, and enjoy the opportunity to socialize and learn alongside their peers through many of our residential programs.

Mission: The Carroll Center for the Blind empowers those who are blind and visually impaired to achieve independence and to lead a fulfilling life.

Website: www.carroll.org

Address: 770 Centre Street, Newton, MA, USA