Center For the Visually Impaired

The Center for the Visually Impaired in Your Community

Every person with vision loss should be able to live with independence and dignity. This mission guides the activities at the Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI), a nonprofit vision resource and rehabilitation center located in the heart of metro Atlanta. CVI offers programming and rehabilitation services to support people all over Georgia who are visually impaired or blind. It is Georgias largest, comprehensive, fully accredited, private facility providing vision rehabilitation services.

CVI was started by a group of parents facing a collective challenge: how to help their visually impaired children reach their full potential. Interested in enhancing opportunities for their children, the devoted parents sought specialized training for them in orientation and mobility, advanced communication, and daily living skills. Led by George and Jean Henderson, the group established a new agency in 1962, Community Services for the Blind, which later changed its name to the Center for the Visually Impaired.

CVI provides a variety of training for the visually impaired, supporting individuals throughout their lives. For 55 years, CVI has offered vocational rehabilitation for working-age adults, social, therapeutic, academic, and recreational services for school-aged youth, and specialized classes and support for children under the age of five. CVI also offers a community-based program, providing training directly in the home.

Additionally, CVI provides training classes on topics such as Braille, white cane travel, diabetes management, assistive technology, cooking and meal preparation, health and fitness, financial management, self-defense, and emergency preparedness.

Special events are held throughout the year to support CVIs prgrams. The next event is Dining in the Dark a one-of-a-kind dining experience designed to raise awareness about vision loss. At this event, guests are served a three-course meal in complete darkness, amplifying their sense of smell, touch, taste, and sound. The featured menu remains a mystery and is delivered to guests tables by members of the Atlanta Police Department SWAT Team, using their night-vision equipment. Dinner is preceded by a training session that shows guests the dining techniques CVI teaches clients with low or no vision. The event will be held Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.

When CVI was founded, rehabilitation services for people with vision loss were only just beginning to be developed. The growth of CVI over the years represents more than an expansion of services it also reflects the organizations leadership in finding new ways to help people live more independently. The organization is proud to serve more than 4,000 Georgians annually.

For more information about CVI or how you can help, please visit

CVIGA.org,
or call
404-875-9011.