Spotlight: Seeing a brighter future

For Robert, an eighth grader from North Minneapolis, putting on his first pair of prescription glasses was nothing short of life changing. “The clock says it’s 2:42!” he exclaimed. “That’s today’s date on the board! I can see the thermostat – it’s 69 degrees in here!”

Thanks to NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center’s Gotcha Glasses! program, he could finally see the world in vivid detail – and his excitement was tangible.

The Gotcha Glasses! program provides free prescription eyeglasses to underserved children in the North Minneapolis area who are visually impaired and face barriers to getting corrective lenses.

“Seeing the kids’ faces light up when they experience their world in such a different way is the most rewarding part,” said Lesley Tuomi, a dental hygienist at NorthPoint who oversaw the origination of the program. “The students are overcome with smiles and amazement as they soak up all the details they’d been missing.”

Identifying the need

In 2012, when Tuomi first got involved with NorthPoint’s in-school health screening programming, NorthPoint staff and volunteers would travel to area schools to perform vision and hearing screenings and make recommendations for follow-up care. But there were gaps in the service, and room for more to be done.

As a dental hygienist, Tuomi advocated that dental care be included in the school visits, and soon after, she began offering dental screenings to students. 

“We developed a system where we notify the parents of their child’s dental needs and give them the option to have NorthPoint facilitate the follow-up care,” said Tuomi. “Once we have consent, NorthPoint sends a shuttle to the school, picks up students and chaperones, and brings them to the dental clinic for a pre-scheduled appointment.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, and distance learning was implemented throughout the country, the entire program had to be put on hold. The extra time allowed the focus of the programming to shift to a lingering question often pondered when visiting schools: “Why are we seeing the same kids year after year without glasses?”

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 80% of a child’s learning is dependent on their vision. The American Association of Ophthalmology estimates that in underserved communities, 95% of students who need glasses do not have them. In addition to poorer academic performance, these unmet vision needs can cause lifelong health issues, including misdiagnosed learning disabilities and further vision impairment.

Research also revealed a lot of confusion about what was covered by Medical Assistance and the limited options available to those who needed glasses. These barriers, along with related costs, a need to find transportation and appointment challenges, created a severe strain on these struggling families.

Making an impact

With the support of NorthPoint Human Services staff, this research was used to apply for, and win, a $10,000 grant to develop a partnership with David Spencer Eyewear, a local eyeglass company that offered reduced prices on a wide selection of frames.

Leveraging the same model that had already proven successful for dental care, the key pieces were in place, and the Gotcha Glasses! program was officially established.

“The kids see the optometrist at NorthPoint’s eye clinic,” Tuomi said. “After the exam, they get to pick out their frames and do a fitting. Those frames are then taken to David Spencer where they manufacture and mount the prescription lenses."

There’s a lot of legwork that goes into running the program. Aside from one community health worker on her team, they largely rely on the support of volunteers. “We’ll see 500 to 600 kids in five days,” Tuomi said. “It takes six to eight people each day to check the students’ vision, hearing, dental, height and weight.”

Since its first pair was delivered in September 2022, Gotcha Glasses! has steadily grown. That first year, 16 pairs were provided; last year, 113 pairs went to North Minneapolis students. Now, in its third year, the program serves 10 area schools with 153 pairs already delivered or in production.

In recognition of the program’s impact, Gotcha Glasses! received a 2024 People First Countywide Award. “Everybody who’s seen this program has had nothing but good things to say,” said Tuomi. “It’s my hope that the work we’re doing today will help lessen the educational achievement gaps in the future and give these kids the tools they need to thrive.”