Debbie Douglass spent her career telling her students the same thing: “Resources are useless if you don't tap into them.”
As an administrator at a community college in California's Central Valley, she taught classes, ran leadership programs, and built peer mentorship networks. She’s always believed in asking for help, in making sure it was available, and in using it.
When Debbie was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in 1999, her employer provided accommodations, like screen magnifiers, and she kept going. By the time she retired in 2021, Debbie’s vision had continued to change. “I needed to figure out different avenues and different approaches,” she recalls.
Hadley was one of those avenues.
Debbie initially connected with Hadley's workshops and podcasts, including Insights & Sound Bites, where Hadley members share what has helped them adjust and cope. “You're hearing a person that's walking the path that I'm walking,” she says. "That's really powerful."
Debbie also heard about Hadley’s Peer to Peer program from a podcast. She knew what peer connection could do—she'd built those programs for students her whole career. So she called Hadley to learn more.
“I was feeling a little low that day,” she recalls. “I needed someone I don't have to put up any fronts with.”
Skyler from the Donahoe Center for Support answered. When Debbie's voice cracked, Skyler said: “I'm so glad you made this call.”
Debbie was matched with Lynne, a woman in Texas who had lost her vision to a stroke—a different story, but along the same road. “Within five minutes I felt, ‘this is going to be a plus.’” They talk every week. Debbie calls Lynne her new best friend.
Debbie is now an advocate for the vision loss community. She serves on the board of a nonprofit serving people with vision loss across California's Central Valley, and she tells everyone she meets about Hadley.
“You're giving me hope,' she says. “You're giving me a chance to still live a productive life. And that is priceless to somebody like me, who lived a very active life and now has to adapt because of something I have no control over.”
“Your work makes a difference. It matters. It changes lives,” she adds.