White cane safety day | va phoenix health care | veterans affairs

The Phoenix VA hosted its annual White Cane Safety Day event for blind and visually impaired Veterans at the 32nd Street Clinic, Oct. 19. White Cane Safety Day is a national observance

celebrated on the 15th of October. However, the VA chooses to celebrate the day either before or after the official observance in order to allow the maximum amount of Veterans to attend and

not have to give up going to another observance. “This event is a celebration for White Cane Safety Day, which Lyndon B. Johnson created in 1965,” said Thomas Hicks, Phoenix VA Blind

Rehabilitation Services supervisor. “ This is a celebration of our Veterans’ independence to just get them out and move and be involved and supported in the programs that we provide.”

Vendors attended the event to inform Veterans on technologies that could possibly utilize. “I have been coming here since 2009,” said Frank Verduzco, Army Veteran. “The VA always stays up to

date on the best and latest technologies. I’m always learning about new stuff. Like just now I learned I could use an app to help me with reading on my iPhone. I can only see with one eye,

and that eye only has 10% vision, so anything that helps is great.” A lot went into coordinating the event to make sure it happened without a problem. “It’s a labor of love,” said Hicks. “We

were here last night until nine in the evening, and came back up at about five in the morning just to see everything is moving smoothly. It takes a lot of moving parts. It’s a privilege to

put it on and see Veterans are getting the help they need.”