Homeless veterans get free eye exams, glasses.

by Betty Reid, The Republic | on azcentral.com

Ray Sutton peered through a pair of used eyeglasses and attempted to read the print on the “Military Spouse” magazine he picked up at a homeless shelter in Phoenix Saturday.

An eye doctor and an army of volunteers gave free eye exams, issued prescriptions and provided used eyeglasses to more than 100 homeless veterans who came to the Central Arizona Shelter Services homeless campus at 230 S. 12th Ave.

Sutton, a 55-year-old Navy veteran, fell in line at the shelter’s service doors for an eye examination at 8 a.m. His distance vision had deteriorated.

“As we get older, things tend to go south on us,” Sutton said about his eyesight. “I can see the (state) capitol building standing on the street near the shelter but it’s not crystal clear.”

The idea to help improve the vision of homeless veterans came from Christopher Curtis, a 17-year-old senior at Queen Creek High School. The teen, who aspires to be an optometrist, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 9182.

Through the scouts and church, he met Matthew Palmer, a Southwestern Eye Center optometrist. The two worked to coordinate a date and time with the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

The Phoenix VA screened the homeless veterans and notified its contacts about the event.

Palmer and Christopher brought 1,400 pairs of donated glasses packed in plastic containers. Each pair was tucked inside a plastic sandwich bag tagged with a number because the glasses were arranged in a data system by prescription.

The 106 veterans who were examined had military backgrounds ranging from World War II to Desert Storm.

Palmer said many homeless veterans had cataracts, glaucoma or were diabetic.

He was touched by their service.

“It’s almost as if I can see in each of them, they’ve seen so many experiences in their lives,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. To help them out. To give back to them what they’ve given to me.”

Palmer gave Sutton a prescription for bifocals and a pair eyeglasses to use for now.

The veteran, after trying on three pairs of glasses, lucked out with Tiffany Eyewear tinted sunglasses.

Sutton smiled and strutted out of the shelter.

“I can see better,” he said.   – see original article here –

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