The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired South Carolina announces second Tri-County location

October 22, 2019

Expansion Planned as the Need for Vision Rehabilitation Services Grows

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, ABVI Client Katherine Vey-strachan, ABVI CEO Courtney Plotner, ABVI Board President Clay Hershey and Senator Sean Bennett.

The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired South Carolina (ABVI) is pleased to announce it is opening a second, permanent location in Ladson to increase access to critical vision rehabilitation services. For the first time in the organization’s 83-year history, ABVI will have two, fully functional training centers serving blind and visually impaired adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties.

The new facility will be located at 9565 Highway 78, Building 800, Ladson, SC 29456 in Yale Plaza. ABVI’s Charleston facility will continue providing its full range of services at its current building at 1 Carriage Lane, Building 1, Charleston, SC 29407.

Blind and visually impaired adults will be able to enroll in ABVI’s Own Your Life program at both locations in order to learn new approaches to daily life. Since its founding in 2015, the Own Your Life program has reached approximately 335 Tri-County adults through classes, therapy sessions, social opportunities and trainings.

“There are an estimated 15,000-20,000 adults living in the Tri-County with a visual impairment. Yet, our Association is one of the only nonprofits dedicated to helping these individuals lead the independent and fulfilled lives they deserve,” said Courtney Plotner, CEO of ABVI. “Our clients who live in Berkeley and Dorchester Counties, or even in North Charleston, often face significant transportation hurdles when trying to regularly access services in our Charleston office. By offering a centralized, second location, ABVI will be able to further increase access to our services for individuals that live in all three of the counties we serve.”

ABVI officially announced its expansion during a Groundbreaking Ceremony at the new building on Friday, October 18th, 2019. Senator Sean Bennett and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey joined ABVI Board and staff members at Yale Plaza for the celebration.

“The building at Yale Plaza was appealing to our Association because it is home to more than 17 vision care professionals, including low vision doctors, who regularly refer patients to ABVI,” said Plotner. “In addition, since Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties all intersect around this area of Ladson, Tel-A-Ride and Tri-County Link both provide routes that serve Yale Plaza. “

To learn more about ABVI and stay up-to-date on our expansion plans, visit www.abvisc.org.

 

 

About Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired South Carolina

The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired South Carolina’s (ABVI) mission is to enrich the quality of life of the blind and visually impaired. Through our Own Your Life Program, ABVI helps blind and visually impaired adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties learn new approaches to daily life.  The Own Your Life program offers two tracks: Personal Independence is for adults to learn how to navigate daily life with a visual impairment, while Vocational Rehabilitation helps clients who are ready to learn the adaptive skills needed to enter or re-enter the workforce. To learn more about ABVI’s services, visit www.abvisc.org/services.