The Iowa Blindness Empowerment and Independence Center (IBEIC) provides a curriculum for vocational rehabilitation clients of the Iowa Department for the Blind ages 17 and older to learn alternative skills for everything from cooking to computer and technology. More importantly, the program provides a platform for individuals to develop self-confidence and a truly positive attitude about themselves and their blindness.
Overview
The Iowa Blindness Empowerment and Independence Center is a residential pre-vocational training program located in downtown Des Moines. Here, blind and legally blind men and women take classes in Braille, computer and technology, home and personal management, travel with the long white cane, industrial arts, and a discussion group called the Business of Blindness. During this training, they develop self-confidence and a positive attitude about themselves and their blindness. Learn about the classes offered in the center.
The skills and attitudinal training the Center provides to blind adults is unique. It is based upon the fact that the real problem of blindness is not the physical loss of eyesight but the misconceptions held about blindness by the general public and by many blind people themselves. With the appropriate training and the opportunity to put that training into practice, blind and legally blind people can live independently and work competitively. This positive approach to blindness works.
Center students learn the skills and develop the self-confidence that empowers them to become gainfully employed and to live independently. As a result, they can enjoy the same opportunities as their sighted peers at work, at school, at home, and in their communities.For more information on the Iowa Blindness Empowerment and Independence Center, contact:
Karly Prinds
Center Program Administrator
(515) 281-1313
karly.prinds@blind.state.ia.us- Classes
Learn about the classes offered in the center.
- Youth Transition Services
The Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) is dedicated to providing meaningful and high quality vocational rehabilitation services to blind and low-vision transition-age youth across the state. For more information, contact Ambrose Fowler-Harney, Education and Training Program Administrator at 515-829-7411 or Ambrose.FowlerHarney@blind.state.ia.us.