EYES OF HOPE
Credit: Donnie Nicholson
Torreyana Tripette is an operations manager with the VSP Eyes of Hope program, an initiative that partners with non-profit organisations to hold free eye clinic events across the USA. VSP Eyes of Hope is fully funded by VSP Vision™, which is itself a not for profit eye health company, with support from an industry-leading portfolio of eye health services, eyewear solutions, and practice solutions. In addition to the mobile clinics, the VSP Eyes of Hope program provides their network of charitable partners with gift certificates in the form of vouchers, that provide a free eye exam and glasses through a VSP network doctor.
During the Homeless World Cup, VSP Eyes of Hope have brought one of their mobile clinics to the Sac State campus and are providing these invaluable services free of charge to players, coaches, team managers, volunteers, and anyone else connected to the tournament.
Much like the Homeless World Cup competition itself, VSP Eyes of Hope events rely on extensive planning to happen successfully, and Torreyana and others in her role, spend months preparing behind the scenes to ensure there are enough volunteers and doctors, and that events run smoothly. Operations managers, along with other volunteers, fly out to locations and set up portable equipment before events start, and oversee everything during the events themselves, which can take place in one day or run for multiple days, depending on requirements.
The equipment is housed in a fleet of three mobile eye clinics which are driven to event locations all over the country and these clinics can be anywhere in the US at a given time. For example, at the same time as the event at the Homeless World Cup in Sacramento, one other unit is at an event in Boston, Massachusetts, and the other is en route to Ohio.
To keep the operation efficient, the mobile clinic drivers have a dual role, as Torreyana explains. “[The people who drive the mobile clinics] are also the ones who make the glasses for us … We cross-train them [and] try to be as efficient as possible. We’ve been doing it for a while.”
If you’re wondering what happens at VSP Eyes of Hope events, it’s a really straightforward and slick process. Patients start at a registration desk to record important information, including any relevant health history. They then go to the pre-testing station, where the doctor takes a few measurements and plans the exam. The next step is to go for the eye exam, and then patients finally go to the frame station to choose frames if glasses are required. Torreyana tells me glasses can be available the same day, one of the main benefits of the program, with stronger prescriptions taking a bit longer and distributed either later in the event, or posted to people afterwards if required.
Credit: Anita Milas
This speedy service is possible because VSP Eyes of Hope mobile clinics carry a large range of basic lenses and these can be shaped to fit the range of frames available very quickly using machinery onsite.
For this event at the Homeless World Cup, there are four doctors covering around 100 patients per day, and the program is on site for four days. So this is a relatively large undertaking. For any complicated or stronger prescriptions there is also a special agreement with the lab to process as many prescriptions as quickly as possible because many of the patients will be travelling internationally after the HWC tournament concludes on Saturday 15 July. It sounds like this is quite a unique and special event for the VSP Eyes of Hope team. “It totally is! We wanted to make sure [that we] finished everything up and [everyone] had everything they needed before they left.”
Torreyana has worked for the company VSP Vision™ for just shy of eight years. A communicator by trade, she started off working in the communications department but has “always loved the idea of giving back to others”. When the operations manager job came up, she jumped at the opportunity. Torreyana tells me a bit more about the kinds of work she does and reasons she loves her job:
“In 2019 there was a big forest fire that happened up in Northern California, so we went up there. Just hearing all the stories… It kinda gets to your heart… When you’re trying to escape a fire you don’t think about your glasses. Hearing some of the stories that people have to tell is very moving and I feel very fortunate and blessed that I have a job like this.”
Imagine the difference it can make to a person to see properly for the first time. “They just look so happy. That’s what I live for. Even if the event is really busy and we’re running around, when somebody puts on those glasses and they have that smile on their face… this is why I do what I do.”
Some stats on the program reveal just how successful it has been since the inception after Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005. Since then over 3.8 million people have benefited from the program, with over 2.2 million pairs of glasses donated. In 2022 alone, there were 55 mobile clinics outreach events, and 229,000 people received free eye care or eye wear. The program is aiming for 75 events in 2023.
VSP Eyes of Hope have helped a wide range of people as Torreyana explains. “We have partnered with different organisations across the country that [work to address] homelessness. I know down in Los Angeles, we work with a mission who work with people on Skid Row who are experiencing homelessness, and in Austin, Texas, we work with the Salvation Army… [But] it varies across the country. We might be working with [people who are] homeless; we might be working with kids at a school site… We worked with an Afghan population who were refugees last year. So it just varies. And that’s the cool part. You never know who you’re going to meet.”
I asked if there are any memorable stories from previous events.
“We were in Austin, Texas... We were working with the homeless population down there… There was a guy who was living right there on the street. And he had glasses and they were so scratched up and so thick. And he had taped the arms together because they were falling apart and it just… it was just such a moving story.” At this point Torreyana pauses and takes a moment to collect herself. But then a huge smile appears on her face. “And we were like, ‘Yeah! We’re going to see you today.’ … It’s stuff like that where people… didn’t think they were going to be helped. He was just so appreciative that we were helping him out.”
The team at VSP Eyes of Hope really are changing lives through the program and Torreyana clearly cares deeply about the people the program supports. “We love our jobs… I get to live the purpose of the company every day. I’m literally helping people to see every day.”
Credit: Dan Higginson
Words: Alix Gunn