With a WATF Loan the Picture is Clear

By, Erin Lauridsen

Becky Bell is a talented artist and active member of her community. She has been creating pottery for over 15 years at Pottery Northwest. She also enjoys drawing. Becky loves the outdoors and is a frequent participant in SKIFORALL and Ski for Light events. Becky also is an active member of the Washington Council of the Blind, where she has learned a great deal about group dynamics and leadership. Becky has degrees in speech communications from the University of Washington and business from Highline Community College.

Becky reads large print, and is also an assistive technology user. “I could hardly imagine living without a CCTV of some kind,” said Becky. A CCTV is a device that magnifies printed material on a TV screen. CCTV help people with vision loss perform many daily tasks. Becky relied on her old CCTV for basic activities, such as paying bills, writing checks and reading her mail and church materials.

Then Becky’s old CCTV, purchased in 1981, began to fail. The picture was graying around the edges, and using the unit was causing Becky to experience eye strain. She thought she would just have to save money until she could afford a new CCTV, which would take a long time on her fixed income. But luckily, she was able to find a demo CCTV for a lower price than a new unit.

Becky remembered hearing about WATF at Washington Council of the Blind events.  WCB offers zero interest equipment loans for its members through a program managed by WATF. WCB members apply through WATF’s normal process. A large print copy of the WATF loan application was the last thing Becky read on her old CCTV. Becky appreciated the individualized attention she received during the application process. WATF staff helped her identify other useful resources in the community.

Becky’s loan was approved, and she is thrilled with her new CCTV. Not only is the picture clear and reliable, but the new unit is in color, while her old unit was in black and white. As an artist, Becky is thrilled with the close-up views she can now get of colored objects such as coins and postcards. She is looking forward to trying drawing using the new CCTV. She can read labels on cans and bottles, use the phone book, and is planning to read a novel. Friends and family even notice the difference the new CCTV has made for Becky. When she addresses letters using the CCTV, she gets compliments on her small, neat handwriting.