Georgia Resources for Persons who are Blind
This is a list of organizations and services, mostly in Georgia, that help people who are blind, have low vision, or have combined vision and hearing loss. Every entry was checked against the organization’s own website in October 2026. Details can change, so please call ahead before visiting.
Project Independence: Georgia Vision Program for Seniors
Project Independence page on the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency website
Project Independence, also called the Older Individuals who are Blind program, is for people age 55 and older who are blind or visually impaired. Most people it serves lost their vision later in life.
The program is federally funded and administered by the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA), which contracts with local providers across the state. Services include:
- Daily living skills training
- Orientation and mobility training
- Access technology training
- Support groups
- Advocacy, information and referral, and peer counseling
The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency contracts with these Project Independence service providers:
Center for the Visually Impaired
739 West Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Center for the Visually Impaired website
Serves Greater Metro Atlanta
Savannah Center for Blind and Low Vision
1141 Cornell Avenue
Savannah, Georgia 31406
Savannah Center for Blind and Low Vision website
Serves 29 counties in Southeast Georgia
Vision Rehabilitation Services of Georgia
1125 Concord Road, Suite 104
Smyrna, Georgia 30080
Vision Rehabilitation Services of Georgia website
Serves Northwest Georgia
Visually Impaired Foundation of Georgia
Mailing address: 6595 Roswell Road NE #224
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Toll-free: 877-778-4342
Visually Impaired Foundation of Georgia website
Serves South Georgia
Visually Impaired Specialized Training and Advocacy Services (VISTAS)
Athens, Georgia
VISTAS Center for the Blind website
Serves Athens and Northeast Georgia
Walton Options for Independent Living
948 Walton Way
Augusta, Georgia 30901
Walton Options for Independent Living website
Serves East Georgia
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (Project Independence administrator)
For questions about the program or to find the provider for your county, contact GVRA.
844-367-4872, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency website
Advocacy and Education Organizations
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
AFB is a national nonprofit that works on education, employment and aging for people who are blind or have low vision. Its website has information on eye conditions, braille, technology, disability rights and aging with vision loss.
American Foundation for the Blind website
AFB Aging and Vision Loss Essentials page
Georgia Council of the Blind (GCB)
GCB is a nonprofit consumer organization affiliated with the American Council of the Blind. It offers peer support, promotes education and job opportunities for people who are blind, and holds an annual convention.
Georgia Council of the Blind
P.O. Box 381
Trion, Georgia 30753
Georgia Council of the Blind website
National Federation of the Blind of Georgia (NFB of Georgia)
NFB of Georgia is the state affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind, an organization of blind people. Founded in 1972, it has local chapters around the state, a seniors division and a yearly state convention, and it advocates for the rights of blind people. Membership is open to blind people, parents of blind children, students and anyone losing vision.
NFB of Georgia
1696 West Caribaea Trail SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30316
National Federation of the Blind of Georgia website
Centers for Independent Living
Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia (SILC)
The SILC of Georgia is a systems advocacy and planning organization. It works for change on the biggest barriers that keep people with disabilities from taking full part in their communities, such as accessible housing, assistive technology and transportation. Its website lists Georgia's nine Centers for Independent Living.
315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, Suite 660
Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: 770-270-6860
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 404-835-1546
Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia website
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are nonresidential, community-based organizations, governed and staffed by people with disabilities, that offer a wide variety of services to people with disabilities and their families. The foundation of these services is the peer-to-peer relationship, where people with disabilities act as mentors for other people with disabilities, showing them by example how to help themselves and to live independently. The core services that CILs provide are:
- Individual advocacy and systems advocacy
- Peer counseling (peer support)
- Information and referral
- Independent living skills training
- Transition services: help moving from a nursing home or other institution back to the community, help staying out of one, and help for young people moving from high school to adult life
Depending on the needs of the communities they serve, CILs may provide other services that vary from one center to another. For more information, find the Center for Independent Living nearest you.
Access 2 Independence (Columbus)
703 20th Street
Columbus, GA 31904
Phone: 706-405-2393
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 706-875-9656
Serves these counties in West Central Georgia: Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Stewart, Talbot, Taylor and Webster. Information and referral only for Crisp, Dooly, Macon, Schley and Sumter.
BAIN Center for Independent Living (Bainbridge Advocacy Individual Network)
711 East Shotwell Street
Bainbridge, GA 39817
Phone: 229-246-0150
Albany office: 229-430-6745
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
BAIN Center for Independent Living website
Serves these 25 counties in Southwest Georgia: Atkinson, Baker, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Grady, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Miller, Mitchell, Randolph, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, Tift and Worth.
Disability Connections (Middle Georgia Center for Independent Living)
3695 Broadway
Macon, GA 31206
Phone: 478-741-1425 (voice or text)
Toll free: 800-743-2117
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Other offices: 1115-B Hillcrest Parkway, Dublin, GA 31021, and 150 7th Street South, Pitts, GA 31072. Both use the main phone numbers.
Disability Connections website
Serves these 25 counties in Middle Georgia: Baldwin, Ben Hill, Bibb, Bleckley, Coffee, Crawford, Dodge, Houston, Irwin, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jones, Laurens, Monroe, Montgomery, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Telfair, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Wheeler, Wilcox and Wilkinson.
disABILITY LINK
1901 Montreal Road, Suite 102
Tucker, GA 30084
Phone: 404-687-8890
Video phone: 404-381-8117
Toll free: 800-239-2507
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 404-687-8298
Serves these counties in Metro Atlanta: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale. Information and referral only for Butts, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding and Upson.
Disability Resource Center
Main office: 170 Scoggins Drive
Demorest, GA 30535
Phone: 706-778-5355
Toll free: 888-534-7144
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 706-894-1597
Gainesville office: 615 F Oak Street, Gainesville, GA 30501. Phone: 770-534-6656
Disability Resource Center website
Serves these 13 counties in Northeast Georgia: Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White.
LIFE, Inc. (Living Independence for Everyone)
4811 Waters Avenue
Savannah, GA 31404
Phone: 912-920-2414
Video phone: 912-226-7660
Toll free: 800-948-4824
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 912-920-0007
Screven office: 213 West J.L. Tyre Street, Screven, GA 31560. Phone: 912-385-2214
Serves these 20 counties in Southeast Georgia: Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware and Wayne.
Multiple Choices Center for Independent Living
125 Athens West Parkway
Athens, GA 30606
Phone: 706-850-4025
Toll free: 877-549-1020
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Multiple Choices Center for Independent Living website
Serves these 10 counties in Northeast Georgia: Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton.
Northwest Georgia Center for Independent Living
800 Broad Street, Suite 210
Rome, GA 30161
Phone: 706-314-0008
Toll free: 866-888-7845
TTY: Georgia Relay 711
Fax: 706-314-0011
Northwest Georgia Center for Independent Living website
Serves these counties in Northwest Georgia: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker and Whitfield. Information and referral only for Carroll, Heard and Troup.
Walton Options for Independent Living
948 Walton Way
Augusta, GA 30901
Phone and TTY: 706-724-6262
Toll free: 877-821-8400
Fax: 706-724-4044
Walton Options for Independent Living website
Serves these 16 counties in East Georgia: Burke, Columbia, Emanuel, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington and Wilkes.
Talking Book Library
Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS, formerly GLASS)
GLS is Georgia’s free braille and talking book library and part of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). Any Georgia resident of any age who cannot read standard print because of blindness, low vision, a physical disability or a reading disability can sign up. Books, magazines and talking book players are mailed to your door postage-free, and there is no cost.
GLS now serves the whole state from Atlanta. The regional talking book centers that used to serve different parts of Georgia (in Augusta, Macon, Rome, Savannah and Bainbridge) no longer run their own talking book services, so all patrons contact GLS directly.
Reader Advisors, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern: 1-800-248-6701
Email: gls@georgialibraries.org
Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (GLS) website
How to apply: fill out the GLS application and have it signed by a certifying authority, such as a doctor, optometrist, nurse, therapist, social worker, counselor, teacher or librarian. Then email, mail or fax it to GLS. If you used GLS or another NLS library in the past five years, call or email GLS to restart your service instead of reapplying.
Fax for applications: 404-657-1459
BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download): registered GLS patrons can download talking books, braille books and magazines from BARD, including through the free BARD Mobile app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire.
BARD website from the Library of Congress
GLS patrons also get free access to Bookshare, and can borrow large print books and audio-described movies by mail from Georgia’s PINES public libraries.
GLS Atlanta Library
Inside the Central Branch of the Fulton County Library System
One Margaret Mitchell Square NW, First Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
Walk-in hours: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except holidays
GLS Atlanta is the only GLS location open to the public. It has computers with screen readers and magnification, one-on-one assistive technology training, and in-person programs such as book clubs and peer support groups.
Blindness Service Providers
American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
Founded in 1858, APH is the world’s largest nonprofit creating educational, workplace and independent living products and services for people who are blind or have low vision.
American Printing House for the Blind
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
Phone: 502-895-2405
Toll Free Customer Service (U.S. and Canada), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern: 1-800-223-1839
Fax: 502-899-2284
Email: support@aph.org
American Printing House for the Blind website
Audio Bibles
Braille Bibles International provides Bibles to people who are blind. Braille Bibles are free. Audio Bibles are available to people in the U.S. with proof of visual impairment, in two forms: a free cartridge that plays in the NLS talking book player (the player GLS provides), or a self-contained Pocket Bible player for a $40 donation. Several versions are offered, including the King James Version, and Spanish audio Bibles are also available. Large print Bibles are available for a small donation.
Braille Bibles International
P.O. Box 378
Liberty, MO 64069-0378
Toll Free: 1-800-522-4253
Fax: 1-877-822-4253
Email: info@BrailleBibles.org
Braille Bibles International website
Friends of Disabled Adults & Children (FODAC)
FODAC provides refurbished home medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, shower supports and hospital beds, to children and adults with disabilities. New clients pay a one-time $25 registration fee, and the equipment is then free. Equipment is first come, first served, so call ahead to check what is available.
FODAC Headquarters
4900 Lewis Road
Tucker, GA 30083
Phone (press 2 for equipment): 770-491-9014
FODAC Savannah
7220 Sallie Mood Drive
Savannah, GA 31406
Phone: 912-667-1552
Email: savannah@fodac.org
FODAC Griffin
235 Emlet Drive
Griffin, GA 30223
Email: griffin@fodac.org
Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) website
Georgia Lions Camp
Overnight camps in Waycross, Georgia, for people of all ages who are blind or have low vision. Summer sessions are offered for children ages 6 to 12, teens ages 13 to 17, adults 18 and older, and families, with Christmas camps in December. Activities include swimming, biking and horseback riding. There is a fee for each session, but local Lions Clubs often sponsor campers, and the camp says no camper is turned away for inability to pay. Optional bus transportation runs from the Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon.
Georgia Lions Camp
5626 Laura Walker Road
Waycross, GA 31503
Phone: 912-283-4320
Email: office@glcb.org
Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
Low-cost vision services for Georgians, with fees based on each patient’s economic status, including:
- vision screenings and full eye exams
- prescription eyeglasses
- sight-saving surgeries for conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetes-related vision loss
- virtual eye exams through the Tele-Optometry Vision Exam Program, for areas without local vision services
- mobile clinics, including vision services for children at school
- eyeglass recycling
Harrell Vision Clinic
5582 Peachtree Road
Chamblee, GA 30341
404-325-3630
Georgia Lions Lighthouse services page
Vocal Point (formerly Georgia Radio Reading Service, GaRRS)
Vocal Point is a Georgia nonprofit that gives people who are blind, have low vision or have another print disability, such as dyslexia or the effects of a stroke, free audio access to newspapers, magazines, books and local news, read aloud by real people. Its broadcast runs 24 hours a day. You can listen on a free Vocal Point radio or Amazon Echo Dot (for Georgia residents), through an online stream, or by phone, and it also offers podcasts.
To sign up, fill out the listener application on the Vocal Point website. All services are free.
Vocal Point
260 14th Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404-685-2820
Email: info@seevp.org
Vocal Point listener sign-up page
Vocal Point (formerly Georgia Radio Reading Service) website
Georgia Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program (GATEDP)
GATEDP provides free telecommunications equipment, with training and support, to qualified Georgians who are Deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind or speech-impaired. Equipment includes amplified phones, captioned phones, wireless devices, alerting systems and speech equipment. The program is overseen by the Georgia Public Service Commission and run by the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GCDHH).
GATEDP at the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2296 Henderson Mill Road, Suite 115
Atlanta, GA 30345
Toll Free: 1-888-297-9461
Videophone: 404-381-8448
Fax: 404-297-9465
Email: info@gcdhh.org
GATEDP page on the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA): Blind and Low Vision Field Services
GVRA’s Blind and Low Vision Field Services helps Georgians who are blind or have low vision prepare for, find and keep a job. Its counselors are trained in vision loss and work out of GVRA offices across the state. Services can include vision loss counseling, worksite assessments, daily living skills, orientation and mobility, access technology training, braille, and adjustment to blindness counseling.
To get started, call GVRA or fill out the online referral form. An intake specialist will contact you within four business days.
Toll Free, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern: 1-844-367-4872
GVRA Blind and Low Vision Field Services page
Hadley (formerly the Hadley School for the Blind)
Founded in 1920, Hadley gives free practical help and emotional support to adults adjusting to vision loss, especially older adults, and to their families. Since relaunching in 2020, it offers short how-to videos, audio guides and articles, podcasts, workshops, live discussion groups on topics like technology and cooking, and peer support. Help is available online, through the Hadley Helps mobile app, by phone or by mail.
Hadley
700 Elm Street
Winnetka, IL 60093
Toll Free, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central: 1-800-323-4238
Email: info@hadleyhelps.org
NFB-NEWSLINE
NFB-NEWSLINE, from the National Federation of the Blind, is a free audio news service for anyone who cannot read print because of vision loss, dyslexia or a physical disability. It offers more than 500 publications, including national, Georgia and international newspapers and magazines, plus local weather alerts, TV listings and job listings. You can listen by phone, online, with the iPhone app, or on a digital talking book player.
To sign up, call NFB-NEWSLINE or GLS, or apply online.
Toll Free, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern: 1-866-504-7300
Email: nfbnewsline@nfb.org
NFB-NEWSLINE page on the National Federation of the Blind website
Prevent Blindness Georgia
Founded in 1965, Prevent Blindness Georgia is the state affiliate of Prevent Blindness. It provides no-cost eye exams and glasses to Georgians in need, runs the Star Pupils children’s vision screening program, trains and certifies children’s vision screeners, and offers vision outreach for adults.
Prevent Blindness Georgia
Mailing address: 7507 Roswell Road, #268
Sandy Springs, GA 30350
Phone: 404-266-2020
Help with eye care or glasses for a child or adult: 404-266-1548
Prevent Blindness Georgia website
Tools for Life
Tools for Life is Georgia’s Assistive Technology Act program. It helps Georgians of all ages with disabilities, and older adults, learn about, try out and get assistive technology. Services include device demonstrations, a lending library for borrowing devices, training, and information on funding and reused equipment. Its labs include tools for vision, hearing, communication and daily living.
Tools for Life, Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, Georgia Institute of Technology
512 Means Street NW, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 404-894-0541
Toll Free: 1-800-497-8665
Email: info@gatfl.gatech.edu
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Veterans and active duty service members with vision loss that regular glasses can’t correct can get blind and low vision rehabilitation through the VA. Start by contacting the Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) Coordinator at your VA medical center. In Georgia, VIST Coordinators are based at the Atlanta VA Medical Center (North Fulton County VA Eye Clinic), the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta and the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin. Veterans in south Georgia may be served by the VA North Florida/South Georgia Health System, listed under Florida. The VIST Coordinators page lists each coordinator’s current phone number and email.
VA Blind Rehabilitation Service website
MyVA411 main information line, 24 hours a day: 1-800-698-2411
VA health benefits hotline, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern: 1-877-222-8387
TTY: 711
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website
Hearing Loss Resources
Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GCDHH), formerly the Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired (GACHI)
Founded in 1989 as GACHI, GCDHH is a nonprofit organization that serves the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind community in Georgia through services, advocacy, resources, educational programs and camps, and assistive equipment programs.
Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2296 Henderson Mill Road NE, Suite 115
Atlanta, GA 30345
Toll Free: 888-297-9461
VP: 404-381-8448
Fax: 404-297-9465
Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA): Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing Services
GVRA employs counselors trained to work and communicate with people who are Deaf, DeafBlind or Hard of Hearing, to help them prepare for, find, keep or advance in a job. Services are individualized and may include guidance and counseling, vocational training, post-secondary education, interpreting services, hearing aids and other adaptive devices, adjustment training, technology services, job placement, physical restoration, and information and referral. Some services depend on economic need and may require cost sharing.
Phone: 844-367-4872 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern)
Hearing and Vision Loss Resources
Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA): Deaf-Blindness Rehabilitation Services
GVRA’s Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing Services program has counselors trained to work and communicate with people who are DeafBlind, and offers individualized employment services, interpreting, adaptive devices and technology services.
Phone: 844-367-4872 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern)
Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults (HKNC)
HKNC is the only national program providing comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services to youth (16 and older), working-age adults and seniors (55 and older) with combined hearing and vision loss. It offers training at its headquarters in Sands Point, New York, through regional offices across the country, and through virtual assessment and training.
HKNC Headquarters
141 Middle Neck Road
Sands Point, NY 11050
Voice: 516-944-8900, extension 1299
Helen Keller National Center website
HKNC Southeast Regional Office (serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and the Virgin Islands)
P.O. Box 380
Concord, GA 30206
Office: 516-393-7733
David Volper, Regional Representative
Voice/VP: 321-282-6216
Text only: 347-899-0575
dvolper@helenkeller.org
HKNC Older Adult Program
Helps older adults with combined vision and hearing loss age in place with dignity and independence. Its Confident Living Program offers virtual and onsite sessions on assistive technology, home and travel strategies, available services and peer connection, and the program also supports caregivers and families.
Jenee Alleman, Older Adult Specialist
jalleman@helenkeller.org
iCanConnect Georgia (National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program)
iCanConnect provides free communication technology, such as braille displays, amplified phones, computers and mobile devices, to low-income Georgians who are DeafBlind, with an in-home visit and free training. In Georgia, the program is run by the Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GCDHH).
iCanConnect Program, Georgia Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2296 Henderson Mill Road NE, Suite 115
Atlanta, GA 30345
Toll Free: 800-825-4595
GCDHH Toll Free: 888-297-9461
VP: 404-381-8448
Contact me if you have any further questions or you see the need for an update on this page.
Updated October 2026
