Mission Statement
Genoa Services is a non-profit organization that uses modern wireless audio/video technology to empower blind persons. We deliver independence and mobility to the blind with collaborative guidance and companionship from sighted guides via the Internet. Working as a supplement to their cane and/or guide dog, Genoa Services guides enable the blind to perform everyday tasks. Guides can see what the blind are looking at, but can’t see - they can read signs and menus, find misplaced objects, count paper money, and more. Blind users can collaborate with guides on virtually any task anywhere there is a 3G or 4G smartphone internet connection or WiFi.
Description
Genoa Services is not just another gadget. There are already scanners that can read bar codes, text or dollar bills. Genoa Services is different not just because it helps the blind read a hand-written note or find a product on a shelf faster, but because it connects people. Guides and blind end-users benefit from having a real human, connection. The guides can learn the blind users tastes and share their values. They can appreciate the beauty of a colorful, flagrant flower or work on cars together, all through the convenience of an iPhone.
Genoa Services provides true mobility for the blind with an extra set of "eyes," making day-to-day living easier. The portability of the Genoa system means it can be employed at home, at school, on the job, or while traveling.
Blindness comes in many forms. Some people are blind from birth, but others become blind later in life from accidents or such diseases as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis, or stroke-related blindness.
While many more opportunities have become available since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the visually impaired population has a 70% unemployment rate.
