Opening Doors for the Vision Impaired
Submitted by: Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired
Independence Industries opened its doors less than one year ago in June, 2007. In doing so, Independence Industries opened not only doors to a facility, but doors to opportunity for the more than 5000 residents of Philadelphia who are legally blind. Prior to the opening of the facility, Philadelphia was the second largest metro in the country not being served by the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) in the area of employment for people who are blind or vision impaired.
The significance of Independence Industries, a division of the Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI), is tied to a disturbing statistic: seven out of 10 working-age Americans who are blind are not employed. As one of 88 non-profit agencies associated with NIB and the AbilityOne Program, Independence Industries is part of the largest employment program for people who are blind in the United States. Through the production of AbilityOne Procurement List items for the federal government, in total, agencies like Independence Industries employ more than 48,000 Americans who are blind or vision impaired.
“We take our mission to create employment opportunities for people who are blind seriously,” said Dennis Steiner, CEO of SABVI. “Prior to Independence Industries, no NIB associated employment programs existed in Philadelphia. But with the acquisition of this 25,000 square foot warehouse space, people who are blind or vision impaired in Philadelphia now have the opportunity to gainfully earn a living in a thriving industry, and be independent.”
Presently, 75 percent of Independence Industries’ employees are legally blind. Independence Industries offers services to the government as well as to local and national businesses, and is capable of providing labor fulfillment and light manufacturing and assembly. Currently, Independence Industries is finishing and packing military helmet pads for the U.S. Government. In the near future, they will be managing digital data scanning.
For information on Independence Industries capabilities in contract fulfillment, or for employment information, please contact Stephen LeBano, Plant Manager, by calling 215-637-2910. Independence Industries is located at 10360 Drummond Road, Northeast Philadelphia.
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