by Jake Hudson, Apprentice, Community Outreach, CNIB Lake Joe
Hello everyone! My name is Jake and I’m a young adult living with sight loss. I’ve always dealt with vision loss, but recently I’ve suffered a retinal detachment that has made it very difficult for me to maintain my active lifestyle. I love playing basketball, going for challenging hikes, and lifting weights. Now, I struggle to do most of those things, due to not knowing how to do it safely and properly.
This summer CNIB Lake Joe implemented a new and exciting week at camp that focuses on staying active and learning new sports as an adult living with sight loss. This addition was awesome for so many different reasons. Being someone with sight loss myself, it can be difficult to live an active lifestyle while dealing with lack of sight, since things like anxiety and fear of the unknown hold us back from reaching our full potential. That’s why the addition of Active Adult and Young Adult Week was so imperative for so many campers.
What I love about the new Active Adult and Young Adult Week is that there are so many staff onsite making sure that all of our campers are having fun, while implementing safety precautions to ease the minds of our guests. I had the chance to speak with Emilee Schevers, Coordinator, Sport and Active Living, who helped build these new programs and Alessia Trulli, a guest who was one of the first people to attend.
Jake: Emilee, tell me about the new Active Adult and Young Adult week and why CNIB Lake Joe decided to implement this program.
Emilee: We have been running the Camp Abilities youth program for several years now and it’s been a huge success with the kids. It was such a hit that this year we thought we would implement a similar program for adults. Our adults are very involved at camp, so being able to offer them a different experience outside of leisure, specifically focusing on keeping an active lifestyle that some may not be able to have outside of camp, was a really cool opportunity. We offered three specialities this year: blind soccer; water sports; and blind hockey. Participants spent each morning focused on the specific sport of their choice. Later in the day, they got to try different sports and speak with professionals like nutritionists and mental health experts to learn new things that they may implement in their daily life.
Jake: What makes this program more unique than others that CNIB Lake Joe provides?
Emilee: I think this one is really important because CNIB Lake Joe offers such unique sport activities. While some of our adults go their entire lives without thinking they could participate in athletics, having this opportunity at camp to try out sports, they get to see if this is something they could continue to do in their regular lives.
Jake: Were guide dogs participating in this program?
Emilee: Yes! For the Young Adult Week program, we really wanted guests to experience different things that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to in their regular lives. We thought it would be a cool opportunity to let some younger adults see if having a guide dog would fit their lifestyle.
Jake: What is it like teaching adults blind soccer, hockey, etc.?
Emilee: It’s really fun getting to see individuals with sight loss reach their full potential and seeing our staff adapt to each person’s unique abilities. We see the different ways that our campers learn from each staff member and coach, but also from each other. The way that they bring their lived experiences and help each other navigate through tough situations is really unique.
Jake: How did you meet camper Alessia and what is the connection there?
Emilee: The first time I met her was when she came to CNIB Lake Joe last year. It was really refreshing to see some of the younger population come to camp. She came to the soccer pitch and had an immediate pull towards the sport. We ended up meeting again at W. Ross MacDonald, which is where we got to know each other throughout the year, so I suggested she come back this year for Active Adult and Young Adult week.
Jake: Alessia, what was it like adjusting to new sight loss as an early adult and how did it affect your activity levels?
Alessia: It was hard, I lost my sight at 22. Basically, it was over a span of time, and I thought something was up, so I went to a specialist, and they said I had a problem seeing contrast. I bump into things, have issues with low contrast and struggle seeing non-distinguishable things.
It hit when I first got my driver’s licence, so I had to adjust and figure out how to be independent. Once I got my guide dog, it really changed and helped me be more independent.
Jake: When you attended camp, which groups were you attending with?
Alessia: At my first experience at CNIB Lake Joe the weeks were mixed up, so I ended up going to a different week than the one I planned. I still really enjoyed that week there, so I decided to try again and go this summer and I really loved it. This time, I went to the Active Adult Week and the activities were more catered toward being active which fits my interests much better.
Jake: Have you made any lifelong connections at CNIB Lake Joe?
Alessia: Emilee Schevers and I connected at a conference in October called Fighting Blindness Canada. We figured out that she did a lot of things at CNIB Lake Joe, so we got a job together as counsellors at W. Ross MacDonald and we got to know each other, and she really helped introduce me to blind soccer.
Jake: What is it like being around people with sight loss at camp versus day-to-day life?
Alessia: I loved being able to help others with sight loss who may have worse vision than me. It made me feel like I had an extra purpose to go to camp, being able to understand exactly what they need because I’ve been through similar experiences.
Jake: Did you find that you felt more comfortable being around others with sight loss?
Alessia: It’s definitely a different atmosphere at CNIB Lake Joe. There’s no judgement when you go there, versus being around people in regular life.
Stay tuned for more new programs in 2024!