Content warning: This blog contains mention of suicidal ideation.
When Hazel arrived in Edmonton, she felt alone.
She had lost her sight due to diabetic retinopathy – and with it, her job, her confidence, and her sense of self. “I was kind of lost,” Hazel recalls. “I went from being independent to being frightened. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought about ending my own life.”
The turning point came when her eye specialist connected her with CNIB.
“You know when you walk into a gloomy room and open the drapes and the light floods in? That’s what CNIB did for me. They let the light in.”
Finding connection in community
Hazel joined CNIB’s Edmonton Women’s Group – one of many peer support programs offered in communities across the country – and found what she’d been missing: understanding, kindness, and real connection.
Twice a month, the women gather to swap stories, offer advice, and talk about everything from white canes to crafting to cooking hacks. “It’s just daily things that help. Like sharing which sunglasses cover the sides of your eyes or how to carry your white cane.”
Hazel, who recently lost about 75% of her hearing on top of her sight loss, says the group has been a lifeline. “When I lost my hearing, I was depressed. I thought, ‘I can’t cope with this.’ I isolated myself.
“But then I went back to the group and found out I wasn’t alone. One woman said, ‘Hazel, I’m deaf, too.’ And suddenly, I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling.”
A brighter future
For seniors, who often face compounding health challenges and limited social networks, CNIB’s peer support groups are vital to combating loneliness, building confidence, and helping people adjust to their new realities.
“I feel like I’m a part of something,” Hazel says. “When you’re insular like I was, you think, ‘This is just awful what’s happened to me.’ But you meet other people and you realize it isn’t that awful. There’s always a solution. Someone is there to help you.”
Today, Hazel – who is 74 but says she has a young spirit – lives an active, more confident life, surrounded by a community that lifts her up. She is grateful, not only for the peer support group, but for the entire CNIB Edmonton team who made her feel welcome and understood from the beginning.
She has a simple, heartfelt message for the supporters who make all this possible: “Thank you for your kindness. It goes further than you’ll ever know.”
If you believe no Canadian should ever have to face blindness alone, please consider making a gift to CNIB today. Thank you for empowering seniors like Hazel – and for building a brighter future where every Canadian, regardless of age or sight, can thrive.