· 54% of older visually impaired people in the UK live alone. · 82% say they can’t read letters or bills, 71% can’t do their own shopping and 49% can’t do their own cooking. · More than nine out of ten are living in poverty. We support older people in a number of vital ways: Patient Support within local hospitals for point of diagnosis support. Rehabilitation activities where we show people with sight loss how to live independently again. Regular meetings at our Resource Centres where we give information about eye conditions and explain how to use specialist equipment. Groups including a macular degeneration group, a glaucoma group and a Braille group. Social activities, including reading, quizzes and games, music, and trips out to art galleries and museums. Our Rehabilitation Officers are dedicated, fully trained specialists who demonstrate how to use specialist equipment that make everyday tasks possible again. Our rehab kitchens, for instance, are fully functional and teach basic cooking skills in a safe environment. The mutual support and social contact that our groups and activities provide are just as important, making a huge difference to the quality of life to those who would otherwise be isolated. We’re proud of our services for older people and delighted that we have been able to increase the number of people we support every year - but we’d love to help even more. We need to secure more funding to make sure that we can continue to provide this vital service, and help even more people this year.