Success Story: Mamie Louisa Moore

(Please note: On October 1, 2012, Governor Snyder's Executive Order 2012-10 creates a new bureau, the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons.  The historical information below refers to the agency providing services at the time.)

Mamie Louisa Moore was a professional seamstress until she lost her vision due to glaucoma and thought she would never sew again. Last year she met with an MCB counselor and received instruction in mobility and using a white cane. She attended a week-long MCB "Mini Adjustment Seminar" to begin learning skills of blindness, and then enrolled at the MCB Training Center in Kalamazoo for eight months. At the center, she excelled in Braille, adaptive cooking skills, and computers, and she also learned adaptive techniques for sewing without vision. Since returning home in May with her new skills, she is living independently in her home and community, and she has returned to sewing. In fact, she hopes to establish a business based on her sewing, making handcrafted aromatherapy bags.

In December 2005, she received a Michigan Commission for the Blind 2005 Achievement Honor Roll Award. These awards are presented annually to clients of the Michigan Commission for the Blind who have been selected for their excellence in achieving their goals for employment and/or independent living.