Dolly Diamond champions guide dogs for people with low vision or blindness
Image: Dolly Diamond. Image: Supplied.
Cabaret performer Dolly Diamond is helping to bring awareness to the importance of guide dogs for people with low vision or blindness. Matthew Wade reports.
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When Dolly Diamond signed up to be an ambassador for Guide Dogs Victoria (GDV), she wanted to help raise awareness around LGBTIQ+ people living with low vision or blindness.
Despite the importance of LGBTIQ+ rights, she says it鈥檚 easy to forget that queer people exist in other struggles and have other lived experiences as well.
鈥淧eople are affected by all sorts of things in the world, but [often] it鈥檚 only when you鈥檙e made aware of them that you really start to become involved and passionate,鈥� she says.
鈥淕uide Dogs Victoria asked me to jump on board knowing my involvement with the LGBTIQ+ community, and I thought that was a bold and important move, reaching out to different kinds of people for their campaign.
鈥淭he work they do is incredible, and hearing the stories of people with low vision and blindness just makes you more aware of the important work that needs to be done.鈥�
There are currently more than 450,000 people with low vision or blindness in Australia.
Low vision can impact a person鈥檚 wellbeing by putting them at risk of hazard and accidents, making them prone to anxiety, and affecting both their mental and emotional health.
In an effort to alleviate some of these risks, Guide Dogs Victoria provides support for people with low vision or blindness in a myriad of ways: via guide dogs, children鈥檚 and adult mobility training, occupational therapy, low vision service, and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support. The organisation also gets involved in a number of community initiatives.
During a recent tour of Dialogue in the Dark 鈥� a Melbourne-based sensory walk that allows participants to step into the shoes of a person with low vision or blindness 鈥� Dolly says she spoke with a man who had low vision, asking him what he鈥檇 like the broader community to know.
鈥淗e said he just wanted people to be more aware out on the street 鈥� people walk around with their phones and don鈥檛 even look up,鈥� she says.
鈥淎nd if you鈥檝e got low vision or blindness, that can be a nightmare.
鈥淲e need to start listening to what their needs are, because only then will we start to be aware of what they do or do not want.鈥�
Dolly says forced help is an issue faced by many people living with low vision or blindness as well.
鈥淧eople will offer assistance and then not take 鈥榥o鈥� for an answer when assistance isn鈥檛 needed,鈥� she says.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e allowed to ask if someone needs help, of course, and I reckon that鈥檚 in any walk of life.
鈥淏ut if someone says they don鈥檛 need help, some people feel the need to try and force help, even though it isn鈥檛 required.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I love the fact that I’m able to fill this ambassador role, to make people aware of the issues faced by this community.鈥�
Guide Dogs Victoria are currently raising money to help fund their support services and upgrade their facilities, and have also put a call out for people interested in raising puppies, puppies that will ultimately become guide dogs. Almost 200 puppies were born at Guide Dogs Victoria鈥檚 nursery in 2018 alone.
In the last financial year, Guide Dogs Victoria undertook more than 7,500 guide dog training sessions, helping to change the lives of 9,625 clients and supporters. During a recent Giving Day, the organisation raised over $1 million dollars.
Dolly says helping out, whether by donating money or raising a puppy, allows you to learn how other people live their lives.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 easy to donate money and forget about it, but in this case it鈥檚 about knowing that the money you鈥檙e spending or the puppy you鈥檙e raising is going specifically to someone in need,鈥� she says.
鈥淧articularly when it comes to puppy raising, it takes a special sort of person to be able to do that, and Guide Dogs Victoria know that.
鈥淚f you have low vision or blindness that dog is your lifeline, it gets you where you need to go.鈥�
For more information about Guide Dogs Victoria and helping out, visit:
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