Founded in 1919, Braille Institute of America, Inc. provides free educational programs and rehabilitative services to people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. Braille Institute opened its first Santa Barbara Center in 1983. Today, Braille Institute Santa Barbara is the region’s leading provider of free services to people who have a severe visual impairment. We are also the region’s official branch of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress. Because the goals and visual challenges of our students vary widely, we offer a broad range of services, including training in adaptive skills for completing everyday tasks; health and wellness programs; low vision consultations; support groups; training in mainstream and assistive technologies; and a library of more than 100,000 book titles in accessible formats. Services are provided at our center, at community partner locations, and in the home. Most of our students (95%) are 45 and older and experiencing age- or disease-related sight loss; 64% are female and 36% are male.