Visits in the Dark

Visits in the Dark is a service concerning more than 300 thousand informal caregivers, improves services supporting home care for the elderly, employs talented people, who return happiness to the lives of the old and help informal carers balance their work and life. Visits in the Dark now employ 11 blind and visually impaired people (Visitors). They visit clients in their homes and in senior houses and day cares and spend time with them. Visits in the Dark was established as a project of the Czech Radio Endowment Fund, which was transformed to social startup ran by an NGO of the Visitors.

One-fifth of the population in the Czech Republic is aged 65 or older, who rely on informal and family caregivers. The blind and visually impaired face challenges finding a job: 70-80% of this community are unemployed. Návštěvy POTMĚ (“Visits in the Dark”) connects the elderly and caregivers with a collective of the blind and visually impaired for care and social support.

The blind and visually impaired help advise the organization, as well as serve as “visitors” to seniors in their homes and care centres. The visitors assist their elderly hosts to cope with the loss of cognitive functions, including sight. The service also aides informal caregivers, such as family members.

A collective of the blind and visual impaired serve as visitors, as well as advise the organization’s social impact strategies. The visitors have diverse backgrounds and interests; they are journalists, teachers, social workers, massage therapists, and musicians. We also work closely with caregivers, senior communities, and care homes.

Within two years of the organization’s launch, Návštěvy POTMĚ is currently implemented in eight cities and over 50% of regions in the Czech Republic. We have provided jobs for the blind and visually impaired, who have a started a partner association in 2019.

We will publish a Návštěvy POTMĚ guidebook for the public; it can serve as a model and an inspiration for other organizations. Návštěvy POTMĚ will also present at conferences for expert audiences and the public.