More Than a Program: How Envision Restores Confidence, Connection, and Purpose

They missed their childhood graduation but found it again through Envision.

Sisters Dessie Egenbacher and Romain Stubbs, separated by time and circumstance, reunited through Envision’s rehabilitation services for older adults. As participants in the Senior Keys to Independence Program (SKIP), they crossed a stage in caps and gowns for the first time in their lives. It wasn’t just symbolic; it was healing. A moment of celebration that rewrote their story and gave them something they thought they had missed forever.

“It was special to get to reunite these sisters and have this moment with their families—not just to celebrate this special graduation but to pay homage to their lives and their achievements through a graduation ceremony they had never experienced before,” said Jessica Clarke, Director of Rehabilitation Services.

They didn’t just graduate from the program. They gained confidence in daily living, mastered orientation and mobility, and stepped forward with renewed purpose.
Their story is one of many.

Erica Johnson’s experience is another powerful example of how Envision’s programs go far beyond skill building. They change lives. “I went from being independent, driving, working, to not being able to do those things and being dependent on other people,” she said. “Envision literally saved my life.”
Through support groups, adaptive arts programs, and the Training Independence Program (TIP), Erica began to rebuild. One of her breakthrough moments came when she took her first Uber ride—alone—for something she once would have never imagined: a cooking class.

“When we told Erica she’d be cooking on TIP orientation night, she said, ‘I will not,’” recalls Jessica Clarke. “We asked her to keep an open mind. Not only did she cook, she enrolled in the NICHE partnered cooking class, and now she’s Ubering there by herself for the first time.”
Stories like Erica’s and the sisters’ show how Envision’s rehabilitation programs extend far beyond curriculum. They’re about confidence, community, and the quiet victories that restore a person’s sense of identity.

Whether reconnecting with loved ones, gaining the confidence to try something new, or discovering a long-buried passion, Envision’s programs empower people who are blind or visually impaired to thrive at every stage of life.

Envision’s programs not only meet people where they are, they take them somewhere powerful.