Yes I Can Blog

#23 Be My Eyes
Thursday, January 30, 2025 by Deb Vellines

Be My Eyes is a smartphone app to help those with low vision. With a phone call, someone who needs help “seeing “something can use the camera on their phone and show a sighted volunteer what they are trying to identify.

To use the app, you must have a smartphone.

Below is a link to a video from the BBC which demonstrates how a blind person can call for help with a problem. For example, the lady in the video wants to repair a hole in a pajama top. She needs green thread and can’t determine which spool of thread is green.

She calls the Be My Eyes number on her smartphone and a volunteer answers with his smartphone. She explains her problem and shows her container of threads to the camera on her phone. The volunteer tells her the green spool is at 3 o’clock. The lady with low vision points to a spool. The volunteer says, “No. Go up 2 spools.” Problem solved.

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-39056979

We want to wear matching socks. Millie solved the problem by always wearing black socks – “black goes with everything”. But the volunteers can help solve this problem with a phone call.

Blind people might be reluctant to ask others to check their fridge searching for expired foods. Millie used her sense of smell to detect food that needed to be pitched, but as she got older, her sense of smell diminished. Volunteers can read the expiration date to the one who wants to check it.

Volunteers are from all over the world, so time isn’t an issue. Help is available 24 hours a day. There are many more volunteers in the program than those who ask for help. If you want to volunteer, don’t expect to be overwhelmed with requests.

If you google Be My Eyes, additional videos and reviews are available. By the way, all the reviews I read were positive.

Here’s another link to learn more from the American Federation of the Blind. www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw160202

******

If you have a smartphone and want to help blind people, why not volunteer? If you do, please share your experience.

Are you blind and want to try out the app? There’s no limit to how many times you can use this free app. Please let us know what help you received.


Previous Posts

#77 Alexa
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#76 Charles Bonnet Syndrome
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#75 Surviving without Driving
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#74 WayAround Tags
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#73 SYFOVRE eye injections
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#72 You Are Not a Burden!
Deb Vellines

2/1/2025

#71 Anger
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#70 Self-Confidence
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#69 Bright Focus Chats
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#68 Zoom Meeting Suggestions
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#67 Living Well with Low Vision by Prevent Blindness
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#66 The Hadley School for the Blind
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#65 AIRA
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#64 Fanny Crosby
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#63 Derek Daniel and Life After Sight Loss
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#62 – 8 Hints for Cell Phones
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#61 Retinal Implants
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#60 EyeSmart
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#59 Voice Commands
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#58 Grocery Shopping
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#57 Eye Appointments and COVID-19
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#56 Social Distancing
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#55 Be My Eyes Update
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#54 Blind Beatitudes
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#53 Seeing AI
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#52 Research & Development 2019
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#51 Yes I Can – Another 25
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#50 Yes I Can Times 25
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#49 Blind Parents
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#48 Audio Description at the Movies
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#47 3 Inspiring Blind People
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#46 Drug Update
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#45 Do You Volunteer?
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#44 5 Pinterest Pins
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#43 – Four Reference Books
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#42 Trust Instead of Worry
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#41 Depression
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#40 eSight 3
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#39 Bioptic Telescopes
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#38 – CentraSight
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#37 – 11 Bathroom Hints
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#36 Public Restrooms
Deb Vellines

1/31/2025

#35 Helen Keller Quotes
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#34 Six Tips to Choose Sunglasses
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#33 Another Be My Eyes Call
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#32 Be My Eyes Call
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#31 Quiz Answers
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

# 30 Quiz re: Sunglasses
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#29 Phone Apps Help Low Vision
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#28 News
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#27 – 9 More Ways to Help
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#26 – 9 Ways to Help
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#25 White Cane (continued)
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#24 White Cane
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#23 Be My Eyes
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#22 Dry Macular Degeneration Trials
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#21 Search Clinical Trials
Deb Vellines

1/30/2025

#20 Clinical Trials
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#19 Eye Injections (continued)
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#18 Eye Injections
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#15 Systems of Sight
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#16 Update on Systems of Sight
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#17 Knowledge is Power!!
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#14 Household Hints
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#12 Reduce the Risks of Macular Degeneration
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#13 Kitchen Hints
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#11 Beecher Binoculars
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#9 Volunteer Work
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#10 Talking Books and Magazines
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#8 Handicap Parking Permit and Restaurants
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#7 Visual Magnifying Machine
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#6 Amsler Chart
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#5 Handling Money (continued)
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#4 Shopping and Handling Money
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#3 I Have Low Vision Button
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#2 Sharing Items to Help
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025

#1 Welcome and Support Groups
Deb Vellines

1/29/2025