- Today on "Austin InSight," an in-depth program focusing on the visually impaired and blind community.

- What it's like to live and work with a profound visual impairment.

Plus, you'll meet Annie, an adorable and highly trained guide dog.

"Austin InSight" starts right now.

- [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(relaxing music) (relaxing music continues) - Hi, there, and thank you so much for joining us on "Austin InSight."

I'm Danielle Banda.

- And I'm Laura Laughead.

Here in Austin, more than 15,000 people are estimated to have a vision disability.

For those of us that don't, it can be easy to take our five senses and health for granted, especially our sight.

But can you imagine life without the ability to see the faces of our loved ones, your computer or TV, or just natural outdoor beauty?

- Finding resources, support, and employment can be a big challenge, but one that's been made easier for hundreds of blind Austin residents by Austin Lighthouse, a nonprofit that's been empowering lives for more than 90 years.

I had the chance to spend time at their location to learn how they help visually impaired people earn a living as well as live full independent lives.

- My name's Thomas Stivers, and I am the network administrator here at the Austin Lighthouse.

My day job includes keeping all of the systems for the company up and running and administer the network and so much more, making sure that all of our technology is accessible and available to all of our employees.

- [Danielle] Thomas Stivers works at Austin Lighthouse, a nonprofit that focuses on employing blind and visually impaired people.

- I use a tool to get around every day called a white cane, and it's just a stick that I carry in front of me.

I keep it in front of whichever foot is about to take a step, and it lets me know if the ground has changed if I'm about to step from a sidewalk to the grass, step off a curb.

I can feel the curb cuts that wheelchairs use to know that I'm coming up on an intersection.

You were on the stage with us we were jumping up and down for testing purposes.

- [Danielle] Austin Lighthouse employs about 400 people, with 200 visually impaired individuals working full-time.

Thomas is one of many employees at Austin Lighthouse, which recently marked its 90th anniversary of helping people who are visually impaired develop work and life skills so they can live full independent lives.

- The challenge is that most people think that blind people can't do stuff.

We're here to prove them wrong, that blind people are just as able and capable- - Right now?

- To obtain the skills that they need to live independent lives, support their family, do whatever it is that they wanna do with their life.

- I think there are so many common misconceptions about the visually impaired community, and something that I have really noticed is that when people visit the Austin Lighthouse for the first time, they are blown away that we have individuals working in every facet of this business, as supervisors, as managers, in every piece of our work, from accounting to quality control.

- We are a nonprofit, but we operate like a business.

We employ people in a warehousing and distribution space.

We manufacture products.

We pump and label and package GOJO soap and Purell hand sanitizer.

So there's a lot of activity going on here.

On a normal day, we might ship 10 truckloads of product out the door, and we might receive in eight truckloads of product.

And four or 5,000 packages every day we ship worldwide.

- [Danielle] There are more than 45,000 people in Central Texas with a permanent visual loss.

Very few were born blind but rather became blind due to accidents or illness, hence the need for comprehensive vocational training and basic life skills.

- Helping people learn how to cook, how to clean, how to live in their own apartment, how to travel from here to there.

How do you get from your house to HEB?

How do you do all that?

People that become blind don't necessarily know how to do that.

They need to be taught how to do that.

That's what the Austin Lighthouse has been doing for the last 90 years, helping people help themself.

- Whether it's keeping up with social media, checking the news, reading your email, or creating a PowerPoint presentation, we make sure that anyone who comes to the Austin Lighthouse for training learns the skills they need for whatever they want to do.

- Comprehensive support is what makes Austin Lighthouse unique, providing a livelihood and living skills for people with visual impairment.

I met a very special member of their team while our crew was out there, and that's mission services training supervisor Michael Phillips.

We'll hear from him in just a moment, but first, some data.

- In the US, there are an estimated 12 million people with visual impairment.

Here in Texas there are 702,000 visually impaired people.

Estimates for Austin vary, but a City of Austin report puts the number at 15,700.

Across the US, 46.2% of visually impaired people are employed.

- And of course that includes Michael Phillips.

But his positivity and resilience in overcoming the challenge of losing his sight is nothing short of inspiring.

- [Phone] Lighthouse reminder today at 8:00 AM.

- My name is Mike Phillips.

I am currently visually impaired and blind.

I went blind in 2000.

I had a allergic reaction to over-the-counter medication, ibuprofen, Motrin.

It caused a condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which basically caused my body to burn from the inside out.

I've had eight corneal transplants over the years in both eyes, four in each eye, and today I'm left with no vision.

When I went blind, it was like, "What do I do?

You know, how do I survive?"

I was depressed.

I was depressed and didn't know.

So, got up one day, and we found the training program here, and I started here and saw how they helped blind people and what they did.

When I walked in this door, I had no training whatsoever, did not know about any training that was available.

I didn't use a cane, didn't have a cane.

I held on someone's shoulder everywhere I went, and the gentleman that was here at the time told me, "Do you have any mobility?"

I'm like, didn't know what he meant.

He explained it to me.

I was like, "No, I don't."

He said, "You don't own a cane?

I was like, "No."

So he said, "Oh, don't worry about it.

Come in on Monday anyways," and I got the job, and I started Monday.

And they brought somebody here to train me to use a cane, and they trained me just around work.

I picked it up on my own after that and thrived.

(Michael laughing) And I spent about 18 years working in the warehouse, pulling orders all day, and then I had an opportunity to become a trainer.

And I became a trainer, and then two years later I became the training supervisor.

And I'm still at that position.

I wanted to learn technology, wanted to learn how to use a computer, wanted to learn these things 'cause I did not know.

I did not learn how to type or anything like that.

So I grasped these skills there, and when I came back here, you know, it opened the door for me, like I said, to become a trainer, to be able to use what I've learned and to move forward.

Well, how does he feel about doing that overseas?

So what I'll do is I'll reach out to these people, and I'll see if they're still interested in possibly working, and we'll bring these guys in, you know.

We'll walk 'em around here and let them see.

We assess them, see what their mobility's like, see what their vision.

If they have any vision, a little bit of vision, how can we accommodate them?

We're not unicorns.

I mean, we see people blind.

It's like, "Look, a blind person."

You know, we're in the store shopping.

We can do these things, and just sometimes, like, we could need just a little bit of assistance and a little bit of guidance.

My seven-year-old says, "How do you do this?

You can't see."

You know, and they try.

My wife tells me they walk around with their eyes closed to try to do things.

Family and work for right now for me and church, of course.

Welcome to Sunrise, Sunrise Community Church, the navigation center here.

And here we volunteer here to do things for the homeless like sorting clothes, preparing meals.

A lot of people need help in a sense, especially this time of year when it's colder or when they really need things.

We're always willing to help and do the things for these people who are in need.

At my church, you know, going and doing things for them to let them see, you know.

One of our coworkers here is also a drummer in our church.

You know, he plays.

He drums for our worship band.

Right now, so starting with like- - And their cookies.

- Cupcakes.

What can we do, and what can I do, you know, that can help others to be out there to do things to get that joy and to fulfill something in their life?

Don't give up if you really wanna do it.

You know, go through the steps, you know.

Find the resources you need if you need them and take 'em, take 'em seriously, and just do it.

- I was so glad to meet Michael and to share his story.

He showed me plus our crew how accessibility tools, assistive technology, and other resources as well as a strong support system have helped him climb out of that initial depression that he mentioned and go on to develop a strong sense of independence and to lead a fulfilling life focused on serving others.

(relaxing music) (relaxing music continues) Another organization helping people who are blind learn and grow is the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The school's leaders are fierce advocates for the visually impaired community.

For more than a century, they've helped empower students with skills, education, and confidence so students can thrive personally and professionally.

Today we're joined by superintendent Emily Coleman to help us better understand the misconceptions and the biases that can make life for the visually impaired even more difficult.

So thank you so much for being here.

It's a difficult conversation but so important.

We appreciate your time.

- Of course, yeah, I'm happy to be here and to just get the word out about our school and our students in the community.

- Yeah, absolutely.

You know, of course, living without the ability to see certainly is difficult enough, but what do you think are some of the unnecessary but very common additional obstacles or societal biases that blind and visually impaired students may face when they're pursuing higher education or even when they're entering the workforce?

- Yeah, so I think that there are a lot of intrinsic biases when it comes to working with individuals who are blind.

Most of the blindness population in the US are more apt to be senior citizens.

So it's just really rare to come across a young person who is blind.

And because of that, in society, you know, we get ideas about what it means to be blind from the media, from religion, from art, and often those portrayals are pretty negative in nature, and they show people that need help or assistance or support or charity or even pity.

But if you're a person that's blind, you have accommodations.

You adapt.

You use technology.

And it's not necessarily an indicator of who you are as a person.

It's just a physical attribute that contributes to your daily life.

- Yeah, you said it, it's misconception.

And so all of this can negatively impact students' confidence and aspirations.

What do you say about that?

How do you help respond in those situations to build their confidence level?

- Yeah, at our school, we really use the term empower a lot, and we want students to have agency over their own lives.

On our website, you know, the logo, that's the first thing you see, is "Empowering students to pursue possibilities."

It isn't supporting students in school or helping a kid do X, Y, or Z.

We want to teach our students the skills to be successful and to be independent and to follow their own dreams and their own passions.

And that requires us to empower them to make their own choices and to make decisions that are based on what they want and what they wanna do and not coming in... You know, a lot of our kids can suffer early on from something that we call learned helplessness because if you're blind, you know, people wanna help you.

They wanna do stuff for you.

Interestingly enough, I'm also the parent of a child who's blind, and he's 19 now and has multiple disabilities.

But when he was a baby, you know, you would bring him stuff all the time, and finally someone told me, you know, "Oh, he's gonna have the fairy godmother syndrome because stuff just appears in his hands."

And that's something that happens to a lot of our students because we have to teach them explicitly like, "Oh, you want cereal?

This is where you get it.

You want milk?

It comes out of the refrigerator."

And that starts early on, and then we just build on that through their life to give them skills for career and employment and higher education.

- Yeah, absolutely, all of those steps are vital, and they all play a role in connection to each other.

I'm curious, what changes, either regarding policy or public awareness, workplace activities, do you think would possibly make the biggest difference in improving opportunities for students in the future?

- Yeah, I think that it would help a lot if employers or college recruiters or anybody really kind of takes a look at their hiring practices and the assumptions they might have.

And if you have a candidate or an applicant that meets your minimum qualifications, they have the education and the background necessary for the job, and you go to interview them, and you learn that they're blind, that you come from a position of curiosity instead of judgment and think, "Oh wow, look at all of this on paper that they've accomplished.

Clearly they're successful and capable individuals."

So how are they going to do the job they're applying for?

What accommodations might they need?

And ask those questions because it might not be that big of an issue.

- Yeah, well, I know that this is so passionate to you and your whole team, so thank you again for helping students build that independence and really just reach their full potential within our community.

To learn more about their programs or ways that you can get involved, you can visit tsbvi.edu.

(relaxing music) (relaxing music continues) - Medical devices can come in all shapes and sizes, and they can even come with a wet nose.

We're of course talking about guide dogs.

These are highly trained service animals that enable safe mobility for people who are blind or visually impaired.

And you might not know, it takes a lot of work to raise these guide dogs with the skills they need to do the job.

Multimedia journalist Jackie Ibarra spoke with Guide Dogs of Texas, a nonprofit group that raises and trains dogs and connects people who are blind with their new four-legged family members.

Hey there, Jackie.

- Hi, so today, I'm introducing you to a man whose guide dog helped unlock a new level of life independence.

Take a look.

- All right, Price, let's go forward, forward.

You know, most durable medical devices look like walkers and wheelchairs and things like that.

I just have a really cute one.

There you go.

- [Jackie] David Robbins' medical device also has four paws, a wet nose, and responds to the name Price.

- But she serves a purpose, and she is a very important piece for me.

Come on, let's go.

- [Jackie] For Robbins, a guide dog like Price helps him navigate the world as a person who is blind.

- [David] Show me the curb.

- [Jackie] The two work really closely together every day, so they know each other pretty well.

- She knows how to find my own special blend of coffee.

She takes me to the exact spot where that coffee is.

She knows that smell.

I brew it every morning, and so she knows that smell, and she takes me to almost the literal bag of coffee that I'm about to buy.

So she does a really good job of that stuff.

And she is very personable.

She's very smart, so she likes a challenge.

And when she gets bored, she can be a little bit like a child that's bored, and they get in trouble.

So I have to keep her well challenged.

And so staying at home all day and doing nothing is not her idea of a good day.

She loves to work.

- [Jackie] Price is a four-year-old Labrador Retriever from Guide Dogs of Texas, a nonprofit that breeds, raises, and trains guide dogs for people who are blind.

- I became functionally blind at the age of 49.

So I tell people I had my midlife crisis, and instead of buying a Corvette, I, you know, got a cane instead.

- [Jackie] Robbins says that while he gained some independence with a cane, it had its limitations.

- You are finding your way around.

You just basically cling and clank your way around the store.

It feels like you're constantly making mistakes, but that's how you learn.

You learn where something is by finding it with a cane, so you're running into things all day.

- [Jackie] But since receiving Price in 2023, Robbins says he's been able to be guided through life's obstacles and has unlocked a different kind of freedom.

- When you're a blind person, you always feel like a 13-year-old.

You're always bumming rides and not able to drive but still want to have a social life.

So it's nice to be able to have your own independence.

In America, cars are our independence.

For a blind person, the guide dog is the closest thing you're gonna get to a car.

All the way.

- [Jackie] The two work together to ensure Robbins can navigate the world safely.

- Good girl.

Find right.

I didn't realize when I first got a guide dog that the guide dog relationship is a 50-50.

I really had this idea that I would just follow this dog, and it would know exactly what to do, and it would be more like she'd do 90% of the work.

I'd do 10% of the work.

But it's not.

It's very much a, she needs me, and I need her, and I have to do my job, and she has to do her job.

You did a good job.

- [Jackie] But this kind of teamwork took time, training, and a whole team working together to get dogs like Price ready.

It starts with a puppy.

- [Pam] Annie!

- [Jackie] And a very patient puppy raiser.

- Pam Sanders, puppy raiser.

- [Jackie] Sanders is one of several volunteer puppy raisers for Guide Dogs of Texas.

She's currently raising Annie, a black Labrador Retriever who's been with her since she was two months old.

- [Pam] You ready?

Let's go.

- [Jackie] Part of Sanders's job is to teach Annie basic obedience skills like potty and crate training, how to sit and heel, amongst other skills, with cues.

- [Pam] I use nice, you know, so, nice.

She knows she's gonna get food.

- [Jackie] But she also needs to show Annie how to avoid distractions like people, other dogs.

And in a busy park like this, there's quite a few.

- Teaching 'em how to not be distracted and still focus on what they should be doing.

It's a lot of this, going to restaurants, and it's all... Every day, everything is a learning experience for both of us.

(laughs) - [Jackie] Puppy raisers spend about a year with guide dogs in training, exposing puppies to a noisy world so they can practice concentrating in different environments.

Sanders says it can be a bit hard to let them go after all that time together, but she says knowing the role she plays in Annie's training and the impact Annie could have on someone's life makes it worth it.

- Seeing the ones who have gotten a dog, and when they talk about what a change in their life a guide dog has made, it's undescribable how awesome a feeling it is.

Good girl, yeah.

- [Lawrence] Up, up!

- The next stop for dogs like Annie is advanced training with guide dog mobility instructors.

This is the more formal training begins for guide dogs.

They'll practice walking routes, stopping at edge lines.

- [Lawrence] Nice.

Good boy.

- [Jackie] And avoiding distractions.

- Lawrence Czelusta is an apprentice guide dog mobility instructor.

He says on top of solidifying a dog's ability to work through various distractions, they're also teaching dogs how to make decisions as they're guiding their handlers.

- It could be going down a sidewalk, and there's a cyclist coming or skateboarder or something like that.

And that dog has to make a decision.

Are we just gonna try to go fast enough that we can get past where the sidewalk would be narrow?

Or are we gonna stop, wait for it to pass, and then go?

Good boy.

- [Jackie] While these dogs are very good listeners, they're also learning when to disobey unsafe commands from their handlers.

- To their street crossing.

And they're stopped there, and the handler tells 'em, "Forward," but there's a car coming.

That dog should have enough intelligent disobedience to wait until the car goes past them.

- [Jackie] Overall, it takes about two years of training, assessments, testing, and pets for dogs to graduate from their training program and be ready to be matched with someone who is blind.

It's after all this training that dogs like Price can be present for life's big moments, like helping Robbins walk his child down the aisle.

- Price was the difference of me being able to lead my daughter down the aisle as opposed to, without Price, my daughter would've led me down the aisle.

And as a dad, you wanna do your dad job, and so Price allowed me to do my job.

(gentle upbeat music) - Thank you, Jackie.

And definitely a really fascinating part of this is that the training is so elaborate, and apparently, though, not everyone can get a guide dog, since demand often exceeds the supply?

- Yes, last year, Guide Dogs of Texas graduated six dogs.

That's because of all the training and assessments that go into making sure a dog can safely guide someone.

Plus the handlers need training too.

And for those dogs who don't necessarily make the final cut, well, they still end up in another field working in a different service path, such as seizure alert dogs.

- Well, I'm glad that those dogs can still go on to do something really important and meaningful.

Thank you for your piece.

And so our viewers know, you are a part of our Decibel team, which is our community journalism project here at Austin PBS.

You joined us last fall.

So can you tell us what it is exactly you do for Decibel?

- Yes, I work as a multimedia journalist for Decibel, where I lead our social media content.

We'll be covering the Rundberg community, so a lot of our socials will be focused on that, but we want our content to be engaging and when appropriate, fun.

And so far I have run a marathon, baked cookies, and have worn a lot of costumes, all in an effort to make storytelling more accessible for digital audiences.

Here's an example of how I'm trying to make journalism more digital-friendly.

Hi, y'all, come with us to run five miles at the Turkey Trot while we tell you about our next recording project.

- You ready?

- No.

Oh my God.

(alarm beeping) How will I ever get to the polls now?

It's the last day to vote in the 2024 election.

- Not to worry, Jackie 1.

CapMetro is offering fare-free rides to various voting locations for election day.

- And if you know anything about cooking, especially about cooking on a gas stove, you know that it can get pretty hot.

(Jackie panting) The holidays are all about community, and we're big on that because we run on a community journalism model.

Wow, Jackie 2.

You're so funny, and you're so smart, and you gave me such great information about voting transportation.

- Not a problem, Jackie one.

I am you after all.

- Jackie, thanks so much.

We especially loved your videos with the gingerbread man and running that marathon.

You are brave for that.

We cannot wait to see what you come up with next.

You can follow Decibel on Instagram and Facebook @decibelatx.

("Jeopardy!"

theme music) And one last thing before we go.

If you're a "Jeopardy!"

fan, and I must admit I definitely am one, you may have seen an Austin man who's competing in the current Tournament of Champions.

His name is Will Wallace.

He used to be a video game design director here in town, and he happens to be the partner of one of our Austin PBS archive team members, Brittany Bosworth.

We chatted with him about his experience on the show.

Are you haunted by any questions that you've missed?

I know I would be.

- Two moments from from the original run that hurt, one was in my last game, the one that I lost, I lost a daily double on the phrase terra incognita, which I- - Of course, everyone knows that phrase.

- I answered terra incognito, which is bad Latin.

I took seven years of Latin as a middle schooler and a high schooler, and so I could feel sort of like Jedi sixth sense.

I could feel my Latin teacher having a heart attack somewhere as I got that wrong and lost a bunch of money on it.

- You can see the full interview with Will and find out how he prepared for "Jeopardy!"

and what he's up to now in the PBS app and on the Austin PBS YouTube channel.

- Congratulations to Will.

And that's all we have for today's show, but be sure to tune in again next week Thursday at 7:00 PM.

- And don't forget, you can always watch each episode for free in the PBS app.

- And for anyone interested, the PBS app has over 12,000 videos with audio description.

We'll see you next time.

(relaxing music) (relaxing music continues) - [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants, bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(light flute music)