The National Eye Institute has designated February as Low Vision Awareness Month, and The Guild for Human Services can point with pride to a number of recent initiatives to meet the needs of our visually impaired population.

In the last year, The Guild launched four different projects to assist individuals with low vision:

It doesn’t take long for a visitor to Burlington House to determine that the residents of this home, atop the hill, have formed a special community.

On this evening, perpetual prankster Lukas spots fellow housemate Melissa’s new glasses on the dinner table while she is out of the room. He jokingly decides to put on the ill-fitting spectacles. Melissa returns, Lukas grins broadly and cries out, “Gotcha!” The housemates and staff share a laugh: Lukas has struck again.

The Guild for Human Services’ annual Adult Residential Program Awards Ceremony recognized 50 individuals for their accomplishments over the past year.

Family and friends joined the honorees at the event, which was held on Sunday, Oct. 14 at The Westin in Waltham.

“We are proud to recognize and celebrate the individual achievements of the individuals we support in their adult homes,” said Maureen Costello-Shea, chief program officer.

Honorees included:

Although he first arrived at The Guild for Human Services nearly 14 years ago as a young boy, it’s not easy for staff to recognize Kevin Clark these days. The 24-year-old resident of Dedham House is a changed man.

While he was with The Guild’s youth residential program, he exhibited some challenging behaviors. There was even some consideration given to discharging him from the program.

Mustapha Abdulai draws parallels between his work at The Guild for Human Services and the research he conducted for his doctoral thesis.

The director of The Guild’s 11 adult residences, Mustapha has found that his position today is surprisingly relevant to the thesis he completed for his Geneva Graduate School of Governance PhD that compared human rights in Togo and Ghana.

It’s Kyle S.’s 26th birthday, and there’s plenty to celebrate for this resident of The Guild for Human Services’ Framingham House.

He just moved down the hall to his new room, which he is eager to show off to a visitor. He’s also excited about his mom Nancy’s birthday gift, a small baboon that immediately takes up residence in his vast collection of stuffed animals. He points out the recently earned Special Olympics swimming medals hanging from his bed post. His dad, Hank, calls on the phone to wish him happy birthday and they talk for several minutes.

Just a year ago, Daniel Sedov spent much of his time alone in his room, interacted infrequently with other people and often avoided his own personal care. Not anymore. Since joining The Guild for Human Services’ Walpole House, the 23-year-old looks forward to participating in his day program through Willow Tree Habilitation, has developed a camaraderie with his housemates and staff, and manages his morning and evening care needs with minimal assistance.