Delta Area of the Blind to celebrate 40 years

By David Jenkins

Standard Democrat

SIKESTON — Forty years ago Delta Area of the Blind was formed, with the purpose to actively and positively promote functional, cultural and recreational activities for the members of the group.

The not-for-profit group has performed that mission daily since and on Oct. 22, Delta Area of the Blind will hold an anniversary celebration from 1-3 p.m. at the Clinton Building.

The event will feature a proclamation from Sikeston Mayor Greg Turnbow, and speakers including member Craig Ancell, who will be getting his college degree in December and speakers who remember the beginning of the organization. Lisa Angle, executive director of the Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way will be on hand as well.

Delta Area of the Blind received its charter in 1982 and became a member of the Missouri Council of the Blind. They currently have 17 members and at least 51% of their members must be blind or visually impaired with the remaining 49% of members can be sighted.

The group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at Concordia Lutheran Church in Sikeston.

“Some of the things I’m proud of is we give away a $1,000 scholarship to someone in the Bootheel area,” said Delta Area of the Blind President Wanda Matlock. “We spend our money in the Bootheel area. We give that scholarship to someone that is blind or visually impaired or if they are going into the special needs field so they can continue their education.”

But the scholarship is just one of the many things the organization does. Delta Area of the Blind adopts at least one family each Christmas and have adopted up to four for Christmas.

They also pay for members to go to summer camp at Cobblestone Lodge in Steelville, Missouri. But maybe the most important thing they do is advocate the rights of blind people. One issue they currently have is with the voting system.

“It’s a law; each polling place is supposed to have an accessible voting machine,” Matlock said. “That means that we should be able to put on the headphones and hold the keypad and vote for our choice. We have been badly missed.”

Matlock said when they go to their polling place, they don’t have the headphones, they don’t have the keypad or nobody knows how to work the machines.

“That’s an ongoing issue” Matlock said. “We have a legislative advocate in our group and he goes to the legislature every year and talks to them about laws and things we’d like to see passed.”

The organization also provides support.

“When someone in your family loses their sight, or goes through the process of losing their sight, that not only affects the person it is happening to, it affects the whole family,” Matlock said. “We support the person that loses their sight, but we also support that family too. A lot of time it is the family member that will refer someone losing their sight to us. Peer support is very important.”

The Delta Area of the Blind also helps the blind find equipment and software. Things like a screen reader, money identifiers or color identifiers can be invaluable to someone who is blind.

“Someone who is out there losing their sight and doesn’t know this equipment is out there for them can feel very defeated,” said Matlock, who has president of Delta Area of the Blind for a dozen years. “I know. I didn’t lose my sight until I was 33. I’ve been in both worlds. I totally get it.”

Matlock said many people who are referred to them don’t really know what is out there.

“I would like to see everyone who is losing their sight or is totally blind, I’d like for them to get to a point in their life where blindness is more of an inconvenience than it is a disability,” Matlock said.