In the Downtown Reno Events Center, project Homeless Connect offered 85 different services to an estimated 1,000 people. For the first time vision service provider VSP Global offered exams and glasses for free. Medicaid in most states does not cover eye glasses and VSP says better vision can be critical to improving a life. Not having glasses makes it hard to get a driver’s license, fill out a job or rental application.
Patrick Johnson is homeless. He was waiting at the mobile clinic in Reno because he says without eyeglasses it was dangerous for him to walk.
“I have actually ruptured a disk because I thought that the ground was level and it turned out I was stepping off a curb and so I ended up popping my back out from it.”
Johnson walked away with new glasses that he says will cut down on headaches and help him read road signs. Along with vision services, project homeless connect for the first time offered mammography for breast cancer detection.
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