About

Who We Are

We are Lighthouse Louisiana

We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA creating positive change for people with disabilities. Founded over a century ago, Lighthouse Louisiana provides people with disabilities an opportunity to succeed.

We provide services for people who are visually impaired:

Occupational Therapy Vision Rehabilitation
Orientation and Mobility Training
Youth Services for Children of all Ages

Services provided for people who are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing:

Hearing Aids
Telecommunications Equipment and Alert Systems
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting

Services provided for people with varying disabilities:

Work Readiness Training and Job Coaching
Benefits Counseling and Assistance for Social Security Disability Beneficiaries who are Working or want to work

Manufacturing:

Employment opportunities in our Production and Manufacturing facility for people who are visually impaired or have other disabilities
Proceeds from the sale of high-quality products made by our staff help to fund the services we offer

OUR MISSION

At Lighthouse Louisiana our mission is to empower people with disabilities through services, employment and advocacy.

We envision a world where:

Everyone with a disability who wants to work can find a job
People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing have access to communication with everyone
Vision loss does not mean a loss of independence
People with disabilities have equal access to community spaces, public transit, and safety net services

Partners and Programs

The AbilityOne Program, established by the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, helps nearly 50,000 people who are blind or have other severe disabilities to find employment. The program coordinates its activities with nonprofit organizations across the country to employ these individuals and provide goods and services to the federal government at fair market prices.

Lighthouse Louisiana works in cooperation and partnership with private, public and nonprofit entities. We have been an ISO 9001:2008 Certified company since 2011. ISO Certified means that an organization is meeting the needs of customers and other stakeholders while also meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product. Lighthouse Louisiana complies with International Standards of quality, customer service, and continued improvement.

US AbilityOne Commission

abilityone.gov

Louisiana State University

lsu.edu

Vision Serve

visionservealliance.org

National Industries for the Blind

nib.org

Louisiana Commission for the Deaf

new.dhh.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/page/318

Louisiana Rehab Services

www.laworks.net/

Our History

Beginnings

THE BEGINNING

Our story began in New Orleans in 1915, where a group of friends had a vision to create job opportunities for people who were blind. We started as a small mop and broom factory known as the Louisiana Commission for the Blind. However, our operations quickly grew. In 1920 we became officially chartered as the Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans, Inc.

Later Years

Later Years

Over time, our business evolved to offer products and services that fluctuated, as funding and community interest changed. As the field of vision rehabilitation developed in the United States, we began to offer programs to meet the needs of the visually impaired community beyond employment.

Recent Decades

Decades Later

In recent decades, we leveraged our success to expand services to the Deaf community and encouraged the growth of Supportive Employment programs to serve people with disabilities beyond vision and hearing loss. By the 21^st century, we were a new Lighthouse that was headed in a new direction, having extended our reach to the Baton Rouge region. In 2012 we rebranded our organization to better tell our story. We became known as Lighthouse Louisiana, adopting this trade name to represent the diversity of the people we serve and our commitment to creating an inclusive society for people with all disabilities.

Today

2010

Today, Lighthouse Louisiana continues to serve as a beacon of hope for people who are blind, but our light now shines for all people with disabilities. We continue to be the largest employer of people who are blind in the state, but we offer a variety of training programs for adults with various disabilities who are seeking supported employment assistance through Louisiana Rehabilitation Services.

Likewise, we support career development through our Ticket To Work (TTW) Employment Network Program and our Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Program (WIPA) for people who receive Social Security disability benefits and want to work by helping them to move toward financial independence. We are a regional service center for the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf program for regions 1, 2, 3, and 9.

We conduct skills training for blinded veterans. We provide vision rehabilitation services to individuals of all ages throughout the Greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge regions. We maintain the only two comprehensive vision boutiques in Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast with unique adaptive devices to assist people who have vision loss. And we offer annual public seminars and workshops to educate a variety of special interest groups from students and health care professionals to caregivers and community partners.