I am so sorry to hear this. That's really terrible. What the instructor said to you is NOT acceptable. There are laws against discrimination. This counts. And your parents, that is NOT ok either. It's entirely understandable for you that after hearing such dramatically life-changing news you might be overcome and make all kinds of decisions. You need support right now. If there's nothing in state for you, is it possible to get to a friend/relative in another state? You need time to adjust. Two of my closest family have Stargardt's. Not only did they both finish bachelor's degrees, one of them is pursuing a doctorate. This is just to tell you that once you have to the tools in hand to deal with a whole new way of seeing and taking in information you are able to complete school. Get in touch with the local Lighthouse Guild or Services for the Blind. They exist in Philly, too.

From a random Google:

* Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a social services organization
* 919 Walnut St.
* Phone number (215) 627-0600.
* The Blind Relief Fund of Philadelphia is another social services organization
* 551 Walnut Ln.
* Phone number (215) 487-1444.

Edit: Once you’re seen by a doctor and diagnosed you’ll be eligible for disability benefits, which will provide some income so you’re not totally destitute. These social services centers will provide more information on that process.

As soon as you get settled, apply for total and permanent disability discharge of your student loans. www.disabilitydischarge.com
You’ll either need documentation from the Social Security Administration stating you are receiving benefits and have a case review date if 5-7 years OR a form filled out by a doctor such as your ophthalmologist. Once approved, your income is monitored for 3 years and you can’t make over like $17,000 annually from work—any disability or other benefits don’t count towards that cap. I just sent in the last form for my third year income verification and I feel relieved. I had grad school debt and after I became visually impaired, was stressed out beyond belief. I hope this helps!

There are many social service agencies that will help you. Where are you?

Find the address for your local social services office. Ask a social worker to help you apply for SSI and assisted housing. Apply for food stamps. If transportation is an issue, maybe try to find a police officer to help you.

So this person deleted both their account and the first post. I'm not liking where this is going...
The original post is below. Thanks "removeddit!"


5-7twink to /r/Blind
> I was diagnosed with Stargardt's at 20. At the time, I was starting pharmacy school in a new state away from my family. Hearing the diagnosis, I was in disbelief because I thought my vison wasn't that bad. I remember driving home that same day in denial of my condition
I decided not to tell my parents then. I didn't want to upset them because my vision wasn't bad yet
2 months later, I'm legally blind in both eyes and depend on my peripheral vision for lectures, notetaking, labs etc. It got to the point that I couldn't keep up with lecture material.
As my vision deteriorated, I lost motivation. I reached out to my school's disability center and they provided some accommodations. Still, we were covering too much material
A few of my professors even told me to dropout. They said jobs in pharmacy werrr already hard to find and that my disability would prevent me from even receiving a liscene
So I dropped out after 3 months.
I came home last week to see my parents. It was an unexpected visit. They knew something was wrong when I had trouble finding our house. When I told them, they were both angry.
They were upset. I had taken out over $100,000 in student loans (cosinged by my parents) and now Pharmacy wasn't even an option
My parents kicked me out. They didn't even let me see my old room.
Having no family and freinds (most of them moved out of state), I was officially homeless
It's been 1 week since the incident. 1 week before I had a shower. My stomach hurts and I'm cold
I spent the first few days going to every restaurant in my city begging for a job. I literally got down on my knees and begged. None of the managers would even have a word with me
I tried going to a soup kitchen but was violent robbed and beat by some homeless people. They kicked my ribs in and stole my laptop, tablet and jacket. I'm afraid to go back and also have my phone stolen
I don't know what to do? I'm afraid and feel hopeless. I just wish some officer would just arrest me. I mean, jail is better than being homeless.
Edit: I live in Philadelphia btw

http://philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org/emergency-and-temporary-shelter/

Try going to one of these intake centers. Let them know about your diagnosis as well, and that you need to talk to someone about what other kinds of services are available to you.


100000 dollars is allot of money, but your far from the first to go into denial and then spiral after a diagnosis. Kicking you out was too far IMO.
As far as I'm concerned, the professors were right to suggest dropping out. I hate to say that, but without serious retraining on how to do things as a blind person, you wouldn't be able to adapt in time to save your degree.

That said though, I've known a fare amount of blind people who were homeless with families that didn't understand, including my own dad. It really is possible to lift your self back up, and if you do, than in a few years this will just be a bad memory. Your life won't be like what you imagined, but you can still have a fulfilling existence, with a job, family, plenty of friends, hobbies ETC.

First though, as u/TheBlindBookLover said, you'll need to reach out to the right people in order to get things started, otherwise you'll never get that chance. Obviously this is going to be harder do to Covid, but your disability should help you.

Priority is obviously food, medical care for your ribs (I'm really fucking sorry about that by the way...) and housing of some kind.

After that is when you can start thinking about longterm government assistance and proof of disability, finding an "independent living center" going to vocational Rehabilitation, and getting back into school and getting a job.


I wish I could help more. The only other thing I can mention is that I've been told even a thin sheet of cardboard or plastic between you and the ground can really help with the cold, and you can often find boxes near the dumpsters of stores. I hope you know that many people seeing this genuinely care about you, and that that knowledge helps keep you moving towards the first step.

I'm so sorry. This is unacceptable, I wish you didn't live in such a shithole and have two heartless freaks for parents. Please please seek help with social services.

https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/city.cgi?city=philadelphia&state=pa

https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Disability-Services/bbvs/Pages/default.aspx

http://philadelphiaofficeofhomelessservices.org/

If your phone and laptop were stolen how did you write this?

If you really are homeless and not a troll, research some homeless places in your area and call and chat to them.