Forth Valley Sensory Centre gets its views heard in Holyrood on sight and hearing loss

The Camelon charity’s sight loss ambassador Laura Cluxton, Making Sense of Climate Change project coordinator Sara Burns, volunteer coordinator Hannah Wilson and employability project coordinator Duncan McPhee hosted an exhibition stand at Holyrood over a three day period.

The exhibition stand, sponsored by Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson, ran from Tuesday to Thursday last week and the team, who were joined by Laura’s guide dog Sadie, informed members of the challenges faced by deaf and blind people, and those with sight or hearing loss, and told them about the support they can offer in Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire.

Sara said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with MSPs the important work we do to help blind and deaf people remain independent, which is the overall objective of Forth Valley Sensory Centre.“This was an excellent opportunity for us to share more about the services we offer, the challenges faced by those with sight or hearing loss, and about our individual roles at the centre.“We also spoke about the social environment the centre provides to combat loneliness and isolation. We are grateful to all of the MSPs who stopped to speak to us, and to Michael Matheson for sponsoring the exhibition stand.”

MSPs from all parties – including Pam Duncan-Glancy, Graham Simpson and Evelyn Tweed – stopped to chat and to hear more about the services offered by the centre, including sensory awareness training.

Sara informed them of the work she does to help people with visual and hearing impairments access information on climate change, energy bills, and energy saving measures, while Laura shared her lived experience as a blind person.Copies of the centre’s Climate Comic – which was created in partnership with pupils from Windsor Park School – were also handed out.

They also talked to MSPs about FVSC’s Making Sense of Climate Change project, which offers free advice to people with sight or hearing loss on the ways they can reduce their energy use, food waste and carbon emissions.