This article describes a program funded by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired that employs two visually impaired consultants to develop self-help groups for persons who are blind or visually impaired throughout the state. Once established, over half the 23 groups function independently of the consultants. A survey of group members revealed a variety of benefits of the groups, including reduced isolation, as well as barriers to group functioning, such as the lack of transportation.
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