ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – According to Vision Serve Alliance, approximately 7.3% of older Americans are suffering from vision impairment or blindness. New Mexico’s Commission for the blind has been helping the population retain some sense of independence, especially when it comes to how they get their news.
It’s just before dawn on a Thursday morning, and actor Lorri Oliver is gearing up for the morning headlines. She’s not reading the news for her education and enjoyment. She’s doing it for complete strangers who can no longer read the morning paper themselves.
Lorri Oliver is one of 80 volunteers statewide for “Newsline,” a service offered to visually impaired New Mexicans through the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. “All of our focus is on news. We don’t do things like books and things like that. Although we do have local magazines like Albuquerque, the Magazine, and New Mexico Magazine, and other things, it primarily focuses around news,” said Krista Mireles, Newsline Coordinator…