Your support changes lives
Support young people to grow confidence, skills and connection by helping us to provide vital services and support.
Taking steps towards independence
For many young people living with vision loss, adolescence can be an especially isolating and uncertain time. While their peers begin to explore independence, they often face enormous barriers transitioning into adulthood. Many have told us they feel unseen, unsupported, and unsure of where to turn.
That’s why our work with teenagers goes far beyond simply providing services. It’s about walking alongside them as they take steps towards independence.
Whether it’s through our school holiday programs, where teenagers come together to learn essential life skills and build friendships, or our one-on-one support from our Occupational Therapists and Orientation & Mobility Specialists, we’re there. We help them learn to use a cane with confidence, navigate public transport safely, prepare for job interviews, cook a meal, or simply find their voice in a room full of people.
Our dedicated peer group spaces offer safe, welcoming environments where young people can laugh, share stories, and realise they’re not alone. These moments may seem small, but they are powerful. They can mean the difference between feeling isolated and feeling part of a community.
The gift of confidence, self-belief, and hope
These support programs have real-world impact, with 97% of past participants feeling more confident, more connected, and better prepared to face the world.
“It’s hard to put into words what it means to us to see our child gain confidence doing things others may take for granted,” said the parent of a Life Skills participant. “These moments, while seemingly small to others, represent enormous victories for our child and for us as a family. It’s proof of their determination and a reminder that independence looks different for every person, but it’s always worth celebrating.”
When you support Guide Dogs SA/NT, you’re helping young people gain more than just practical skills — you’re giving them confidence, self-belief and the potential to live fully and independently.
You’re also helping their families; parents and carers who lie awake at night wondering what the future will hold for their child. Your kindness gives them something priceless: hope.
Together, we can help young people who are blind or have low vision to step into adulthood not with fear, but independently and with confidence.
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