Three clinicians were fed up with seeing the homeless forgoing eye care. They launched a mobile eye clinic that pops-up at organisations already active in the community, and they're adding volunteers to deliver no-cost glasses to those who need them.
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00:00So we're on the way to Kirkton Road Centre.
00:16These clinicians are volunteering to bring eye care to the homeless and disadvantaged.
00:21We've tried to remove every single barrier that we've found these people experience.
00:25The three co-founders of Eyes of Hope saw homeless people forgoing eye care, a service
00:30that's often subsidised in New South Wales.
00:33A lack of awareness, nomadic lifestyles and stigma are some of the reasons why people
00:38often miss out on treatment.
00:41If you haven't eaten that day, that's going to take priority over going and getting your
00:45eye health looked at.
00:46Dean needed eye care for three years.
00:48It'll be like I've got welding flashes in my eyes.
00:52People's faces, I can see their body and their movement, but I can't see the face.
00:57His poor health ended his career as a labourer, but he hopes glasses will make retraining
01:01easier.
01:02I'll be able to read posters on the wall now, build notifications, won't have to go right
01:08up and squint and try to estimate what the letters are, be able to read the computer.
01:16Suddenly they can actually engage in services that they might otherwise have avoided.
01:26Eyes of Hope now offers pop-up services at four community organisations in Sydney.
01:31Stakeholders say the clinicians spotted a gap in the market.
01:34They say it's an example of the system working, where government programs are delivered by
01:39not-for-profit organisations.
01:42Patients often just don't have access, and so they're really grateful that we've brought
01:45something to them.
01:46The service recently secured a mentoring scholarship to help the co-founders expand the program.
01:51Do you feel like your vision has been popularised?
01:53But they say paid staff are needed to ensure it's sustainable.