Local blind and visually impaired youth featured in new documentary highlighting WVU’s Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program
Seven students enrolled in the West Virginia University Eye Institute’s Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program (CVRP) got to experience what life is like as a movie star, as they walked down the red carpet to cheers from family, friends and the dedicated team of professionals who have helped shape their educational journeys.
The seven students were recently featured in a new documentary highlighting the program titled “Sight Unseen,” which was screened for students, their families, faculty and staff of the Eye Institute and CVRP and community partners during a special event at the WVU Erickson Alumni Program in January.
One of those students was Kenzie Hayes, a junior at Oak Glen High School in Hancock County who has been enrolled in CVRP since she was three years old. She used the occasion to reflect on her journey through the program, saying she counts her friends and mentors in the program as her second family.
“CVRP is a place where I know I will always belong,” she said. “It is a home where I know that I will never be excluded, my abilities will never be doubted and I will always have a friend to turn to and receive never-ending love and support. This program is a place where dreams can become reality.”
Filmed over more than a year in locations across West Virginia, the documentary provides a glimpse into the lives of CVRP students and how their experiences through the program have helped them break down barriers and achieve independence.
“Through this program we aim to help these kids in any way we can, but our primary goal has always been to provide them with the necessary tools to become independent by optimizing visual function at home, school and beyond,” said Rebecca Coakley, MA, CLVT, director of outreach for the Eye Institute and program director for CVRP. “It is endlessly rewarding to watch students like Kenzie grow as they excel through this program and towards achieving their personal, professional and educational goals.”
Throughout her time as a student at Oak Glen High School, Hayes has been active in theater, choir and the PEP Club, where she helps organize pep rallies and school events. She has also been selected as part of Hancock County’s Solo & Ensemble Team, where she competes against her peers at the state level.
“CVRP has given me the confidence to try new things, be myself and be an active member of my community,” Hayes said. “It has taught me that there is nothing our sighted peers can do that we can’t also achieve. I feel so lucky to have grown up through this program and am honored to have been able to share my story through this documentary.”
“Sight Unseen” has not yet premiered for the public, but CVRP officials said plans are in the works for it to be hosted on a streaming service in the near future.
CVRP is an outreach program at the WVU Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences that responds to the needs of blind and visually impaired children, their parents and related professionals in West Virginia. To learn more about the program, visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/eye/outreach/childrens-vision-rehabilitation-program-cvrp.
To see the full gallery of photos from the "Sight Unseen" screening event, click here.