Ramona Kelly has been ditching eye care for years, living with blurred vision over seeing a doctor for a prescription.
“I’m taking a shower, and I’ll put lotion on because I can’t see if it’s a shampoo or conditioner,” Kelley said.
That’s why she came to a free vision clinic in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 27-28 at the 40 Prado homeless shelter.
The event was organized through VSP Eyes of Hope, the charitable arm of VSP Vision, which partnered with local providers and volunteers to deliver care to unhoused residents and others in the community who lack access to eye care services.
The shelter’s cafeteria transformed into temporary exam rooms with a mobile clinic bus outside. Volunteer optometrists came to provide comprehensive eye exams. Patients were able to receive exams, share a meal and wait for their prescription glasses to be ready on the same day.
“A pair of glasses out of pocket can be $1,000 or more,” said Steve Noone, a Cal Poly alumnus and software designer at VSP Vision who volunteered at the event. “If you don’t have insurance, it’s prohibitive. And it’s debilitating too, kids can’t read the board, people can’t do their jobs… People even had trouble filling out the paperwork to sign in here today.”
Noone said that cost and insurance barriers often prevent people from seeking vision care in the first place.
The mobile clinic, which travels across the country, allows VSP volunteers to bring eye care directly to communities where services are limited. The organization also deploys the clinic to disaster zones or rural areas where access to health care is scarce.
Nita Van Stralen, charity care coordinator for VSP Eyes of Hope, said the program focuses on meeting people where they are.
“We have a whole community of people here at 40 Prado who need help,” Van Stralen said. “Many people are unhoused or living below the income levels needed to access regular eye care.”
This year marks more than a decade of the program partnering with the local community.
“This is actually the 11th year we’ve done this event here,” Van Stralen said. “Last time we helped over 300 people, and we’re expecting to easily surpass 200 over these two days.”
Beyond improving and assessing vision, eye exams can reveal other serious health conditions.
“At one event, we found someone with a brain tumor,” Van Stralen said. “We’ve also seen detached retinas. Getting your eyes checked is more than just your vision, it can tell you a lot about your overall health.”
40 Prado partnered with SLO Noor Clinic, a non-profit that provides free medical services to underserved residents in San Luis Obispo County.
For Anne Pagent, Administrative Coordinator for SLO Noor, bringing the clinic directly to the shelter helps remove major barriers.
“It’s really difficult for people experiencing homelessness to get regular medical appointments,” Pagent said. “There are so many things people can’t do if they can’t see, they can’t drive, they can’t apply for jobs, they can’t even fill out forms.”
Pageant said the impact of new glasses can be immediate.
“One of the most memorable moments for me was watching a middle-aged man put on glasses for the first time in his life,” Pagent said. “He said he’d never been able to see that well before.”
Volunteer optometrists from across the region donated their time to perform exams and help patients receive prescriptions or referrals for follow-up care.
Dr. Sayed Ali, an optometrist and co-owner of Central Coast Vision, said many patients simply haven’t had access to routine vision care.
“We’re seeing a lot of people who just haven’t had access to glasses or eye exams,” Ali said. “Transportation, cost and awareness are all barriers.”
Ali said a simple prescription can significantly improve an individual’s quality of life.
“When you properly correct someone’s vision, it can improve their ability to work, learn and enjoy life,” Ali said. “It’s a beautiful world. You might as well see it.”
The clinic also relies heavily on student volunteers from the community. Maia Lambson, a third-year biological sciences student at Cal Poly, helped assist patients throughout the day.
“As a student going into health care, it’s important to see public health efforts firsthand,” Lambson said. “It’s really inspiring to see how many people care and want to help.”
Lambson said volunteering also helps students better understand the broader community that exceeds beyond Cal Poly’s campus.
“As students we can get caught up in our own small problems,” Lambson said. “Coming out here reminds me of the real world and that there’s a much bigger community, and even small efforts can make a difference. Every time I volunteer, I go home feeling like I actually helped someone. There’s really no reason not to do it.”
For the patients who require specialized lenses that cannot be produced on-site, glasses will be manufactured at a VSP lab and delivered back to the community within the next several weeks.
SLO Noor Clinic officials said the organization is always looking for volunteers to support its medical outreach programs.
More information is available at https://www.slonoorfoundation.org.