WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — You’ve probably heard the phrase “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” It’s a reminder to think about, and perhaps experience, life from somebody else’s perspective.
In Lake County, the business Magnifiers & More, along with the Willoughby Evening Lions Club, is hosting the Annual Walk for White Cane Safety Awareness Day on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The walk raises awareness and funds to support people throughout the county who have visual impairments.
Debbie Kogler, owner of Magnifiers & More, helped launch the event in 2013. She said the objective was to raise awareness about white cane safety.
Ohio law states, “the driver of every vehicle shall yield the right of way to every blind pedestrian guided by a guide dog, or carrying a cane which is predominantly white or metallic in color, with or without a red tip.”
Kogler said informing the community about what a white cane is and why someone may use it is important.
“Unfortunately, people are stereotyped, thinking that if somebody's using a white cane, they are completely blind and they should have dark glasses on and a dog and that's not always the case,” Kogler said. “We have a lot of people that use a white cane that have some vision and some that don't. And so, again, we wanted to get the community aware of what a white cane does and how important it is for somebody who is visually impaired.”
Volunteers are still looking for people to become walkers who will collect pledges for the cause.
Walkers will travel about a mile from the municipal pool in Euclid to Wes Point Park in downtown Willoughby, blindfolded, with the assistance of a white cane and a sighted partner.
Dylan LeMaster has participated for years. He was born with severe visual impairment.
“It’s a community gathering. Everyone’s happy and getting excited and training,” LeMaster said.
He said being able to educate people about visual impairments and tools that help people gain independence is important.
“Honestly, it’s the tools that really make my vision issues not that much of a problem,” LeMaster said. “Because I have the cane, I have assistive technology that allows me to access a lot of stuff. Doing everyday stuff— yet may require some help from a sighted person, but a lot of it is just I figure it out. And a lot of times I make it work, and it works out.”
When LeMaster, who’s 19 years old, was younger, he took orientation and mobility training, which teaches individuals with visual impairments how to travel safely, efficiently, and independently in their environment. He said mastering how to use a white cane took some work.
“It started with going around sidewalks. And then it got a little more advanced to crossing streets with stop signs in a small community like Painesville Township,” LeMaster said. “And then it turned into going downtown Painesville. By the end, I was able to start at one place, make a couple of road crossings and be at my destination.”
Those interested in the annual walk can call 440-946-3363.
How I first met Dylan LeMaster
It was 2018, and someone contacted me to share that a local sixth-grader was using artificial vision to help him be more independent.
At that time, LeMaster had just started using the OrCam MyEye 2, a camera device that attaches to a pair of glasses.
It takes a photo of printed text and instantly reads it aloud. It works on books, signs, menus, and more. The technology even had real-time facial recognition to tell a person who was in front of them.
Since then, technology has only advanced.
My report on LeMaster caught the attention of the national talk show hosted by Steve Harvey, and the family went to Los Angeles to share their story and talk about the use of the OrCam MyEye 2.
LeMaster now attends Lakeland Community College and is studying IT. He’s interested in a career working with computers and has a passion for fixing old electronics, including VCRs and audio and video systems.
