Groups and Events

Sharing Space Support Group: The Sharing Space Support Group (SSSG) is year-round, professionally facilitated group counselling for adults who are blind or living with sight loss. This group address’ life challenges specifically for blind people, whether big or small, in a safe and supportive group experience. Our Sharing Space Support Group is facilitated by a registered Social Worker with lived experience.

Yoga: A certified advanced yoga instructor leads an 8-week class with a focus on back care, pain reduction, and corrective posture. Although offered in a group setting, participants benefit from individualized 1-on-1 instruction during the sessions which makes it perfect for beginners and advanced practitioners alike!

UpSkills for Work: Facilitated in partnership with ABC Life Literacy, this 9-week workshop series teaches all the soft skills necessary for those looking to set new personal goals or who are at the start of employment. These sessions explore: time management, stress management, teamwork, presentation, confidence, accountability, adaptability, motivation and attitude.

Stay Safe! A Comprehensive Self-Defense Workshop Series for Blind and Partially Sighted Adults: This course aims to encourage honest discussions about personal safety and violence. It covers the basics of self-defense, and includes additional skills like verbal de-escalation and practicing evaluative techniques in threatening scenarios, while also exploring topics such as violence against the blind and partially sighted, challenging vulnerability and responding to disablism/ableism. 

Communication is Key!: This course aims to reduce communication-related stress and provides opportunities to practice and build skills in a safe setting. Participants learn assertive communication, self-advocacy strategies, active listening and how to give and receive feedback; you will be able to apply your new skills in your everyday life and more actively engage in the activities that are important to you.

BlindSquare and BlindSquare Event: These sessions are an introduction to BlindSquare where you will learn about a variety of features available with BlindSquare and how to effectively use them. These include searching for points of interest (POI), adding and sharing locations, connecting to Bluetooth accessories for hands-free use and using iBeacon technology for indoor navigation. Included in the sessions is a practical experience at the AGO!

Building Resilience: Stay-tuned for upcoming details on our Building Resilience workshop series!

Writing for Life Creative Writing Workshop: Through a series of writing prompts and exercises, participants learn how to think creatively, express themselves and enjoy the act of creative writing. This group is led by professional playwright and screenwriter.  

Good Vibrations Vocal Workshop: In Good Vibrations you will begin to understand how the voice works, recognize your own vocal potential, relax and open your breathing, feel the joy of sound vibrations and even speak a little Shakespeare. This workshop is for all levels but will focus on the fundamentals of breath, resonance, speech and freeing your unique voice. And, it’s fun!   

The Adventure Zone – Introduction to Dungeons and Dragons: Join this introductory Dungeons & Dragons board game group where storytelling and single-character play, set on a loosely medieval world, will take you on the adventure of a lifetime! 

Music Appreciation: This interactive, virtual program explores many different aspects and elements of music such as basic trends that have evolved in popular music from the 1900’s to present day, studio techniques, musical history, and more!

Let’s Get Quizzical! Trivia Nights: Need we say more? These evening trivia nights always mean tons of fun, friendly competition and the chance to win a small prize!

Coffee Connections: This fun, social group meets every week over Zoom; its a chance for people to gather, make new acquaintances, share how they’re feeling, and to chat with others in the community.

Beyond Siri: Getting the Most from your iPhone: This class is for both those who are new to iPhone, as well as those looking to improve their knowledge and use of the device. The purpose of these sessions is to provide a setting in which uncertainty regarding the use of or changes to specific apps can be discussed in greater detail. Each session will feature a different topic, with some classes being repeated periodically.

Internet Access Group: These in-person sessions are for those who are new to vision loss or blindness and aim to provide the foundational knowledge and skills required to understand and properly access the internet efficiently using JAWS, Zoomtext and/or Fusion.

iPhone 101: These in-person sessions are for those who are completely new to the iPhone and aim to provide the foundational knowledge and skills required to use your device. Beginners learn the most basic features of the iPhone and together explore topics like what is a gesture and how do you swipe your screen? How to use your device when there are no buttons? And what is Siri?