“The Lighthouse is where it all started for me,” said Gregory Bell, who lost his sight and turned his life around with the help of Lighthouse International.
Gregory Bell was told he would be blind in five years.
It was 1987 and the Vietnam serviceman was visiting the Veterans Affair Hospital in New York City. He was there for an eye exam after experiencing difficulties recognizing faces from afar. Gregory had an inkling his vision was deteriorating, but he wasn’t prepared for the news he was about to hear.
When the doctor at the VA Hospital examined his eyes, she discovered he had open angle glaucoma and told Gregory he would be blind in approximately five years. “[The doctor] walked out the door and left me there in the chair,” he said. “There was no compassion in the way she said it.” Gregory sat in the examination room in disbelief.
Gregory continued to live in a state of denial while his vision got worse. Thankfully, Lighthouse International was there to help.
In 1998, he discovered the Lighthouse through the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH). With a dream of opening his own business, he enrolled in independent living and computer training courses at the Lighthouse. “[The Lighthouse] is where it all started for me,” he said.
With the help of Lighthouse instructor Lynette Tatum, Gregory learned how to type up to 65 words per minute and properly operate a computer. “I didn’t even know how to turn a computer on,” he said. “I credit [Lynette] with a lot of the things that I’ve learned how to do.”
Motivated by his own experiences as a visually impaired veteran, Gregory wanted to provide housing accommodations for the visually impaired community. That’s when he conceived the idea for Insight For New Housing, a nonprofit organization that would design and develop housing for the blind and visually impaired.
Gregory knew it would take a lot of hard work and determination to fulfill his goal of starting Insight For New Housing. He began taking an entrepreneurial class from the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO) in order to learn how to put together a business plan.
Through SoBRO, Gregory began attending general board meetings at the Economic Development Committee of Planning Board Four in the Bronx. “I wanted to know how power was shaped in Bronx County,” he said. “I wanted to know who the power brokers were.”
Eventually, Gregory became the recording secretary of Planning Board Four as well as a member of the Housing and Land Use Committee. Through these two committees, he gained the skills necessary to approach community boards and politicians with proposals from Insight For New Housing.
In 2006, Insight For New Housing collaborated with Highbridge Community Development Corporation to open their first housing development in the Bronx called Jesup Heights Apartments One. The complex is specifically designed for the visually impaired, offering one-bedroom and studio apartments with automatic sensors for doors, talking elevators, Braille mailboxes and more. The building is modeled after the universal design and accessibility of Lighthouse International’s headquarters.
On December 15, 2011, Gregory will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Insight For New Housing. In only a decade, the nonprofit has collaborated on three housing developments and has become a powerful voice for the visually impaired community.
Gregory once thought owning his own business was an unattainable dream. Now, his dream is a reality and he’s sitting on the New York State Rehabilitation Council and rubbing arms with politicians, community leaders, social workers and power brokers throughout New York. His story is an inspiring example of what someone with a visual impairment can achieve. Despite his success, Gregory remains as focused and determined as ever. “I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said. “But I don’t have time to sit back and feel good about it because I have so many other things I have yet to do.”
Support Lighthouse International in its mission to help the visually impaired live safe, happy, and independent lives. The Lighthouse depends on the generosity of people like you, so please donate today!
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