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has the definitive
figures on the
cost of blindness
to the economy.
The factor is thus
named for him,
called the HU
number.
The latest HU
figure is for 2003
which showed a
67.6 billion dollar
expenditure for
treating blindness
and the loss to
the economy.
This is a 400%
increase over the
past 20 years.
With some
extrapolation
the figure for
Florida would
be at least 1.5
billion annually.
or less in both eyes. The instance of persons with total blindness, that is those
with no light perception, is extremely rare. Most blind persons have some vision.
As seen in the following statistics the instance of blindness is only 0.05% of the
population in the United States.
Due to the small instance of blindness as compared to other diseases and
disabilities, this group is under served. They have no national celebrity
spokesperson or fund raiser as many other disabilities have. They have no
powerful lobby group.
There is a strong fear by many sighted individuals toward blind persons. This
is an insidious fear that has persisted through the centuries, that associates
blindness with demon possession or satanic forces or as a resident evil within the
blind person. People can be heard to say that they would pick almost any
disability over blindness. Sight is a precious and valued sense.
Work is a difficult task for blind persons. Two thirds of the blind population
does not work. The HU chart below shows the enormous cost of blindness to the U.
S. economy. The Social Security Administration takes this cost very seriously.
The SSA permits broader guidelines for persons with blindness in the hope that
they will produce something, even if it is only through part time, temporary or
interrupted work.
Persons with blindness also have the occurrence of mental health disorders
greater than that in any other disability category. The basis for this begins at
childhood. According to Dan Ammons (1991 University of Utah), blind children
have few and poor experiences. They spend much time in isolation and rarely
get to participate in the social activities that sighted children enjoy. Thus, they
grow up being socially inept, with few friends, and beset with depression, anxiety,
agoraphobia, attachment and sexual disorders, substance abuse, and the whole
range of mental health problems... They are likewise abusers of substances at an
instance greater than that of the sighted population.
• 20.4 million noninstitutionalised adults had vision problems in the US 2001
This includes all those who had some vision problems. (Summary Health
Statistics for US Adults, National Health Interview Survey, 1999 and 2001, NCHS,
CDC)
• There is about 10% of noninstitutionalised adults having vision problems in
the US 2001 (Summary Health Statistics for US Adults, National Health Interview
Survey, 1999 and 2001, NCHS, CDC)
• 1,100,000 people are legally blind, about 0.05% in the US (Research to
Prevent Blindness, NISE, NSF) This is a subgroup of the above.
There are 76,799 persons with blindness over age 40 in Florida or a total
of approximately 150,000.
disabilities these persons have no celebrity spokesperson, no
powerful lobby group, or central agency with political clout. That is
the reason The Mentor Center was formed: to provide work,
independence, training, increased self esteem, enriched
experiences and thus lowered pressure on the economy and
savings to taxpayers.