“Everyone knows someone who is blind or has vision loss. Any opportunity to provide education about blindness and low vision, and to educate people on how to assist someone who is blind or vision impaired, is a great opportunity.”

That is the mission of Leslie Hoskins who in November 2022 will teach, “Leader Dogs for the Blind: A Discussion of Blindness and Low Vision,” at SOAR. She will be accompanied by a Leader Dog for the Blind Canine Ambassador, one of 12 canines specifically trained for public events and programs.

Hoskins, a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Outreach Services and Community Engagement Manager at Leader Dogs for the Blind, started her career of assisting others as a bartender while attending Western Michigan University and getting a Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

A Career Born from a Passion to Help Others

Although bartending sufficed, Hoskins was searching for more. The answer came across the bar, when a customer suggested she check into Western’s Master of Arts in Orientation and Mobility, the largest such program in the country. She poked around and soon knew she found her life’s passion.

“I believe in the mission of Leader Dogs for the Blind,” she said in a recent conversation. “While working on my Masters, we spent a lot of time under blindfold. Although I could take my blindfold off after the exercise, I gained empathy and understanding for individuals who were blind and believed in the cane skills I would be teaching.”

Leader Dogs for the Blind is headquartered in Rochester, Michigan and has served more than 16,000 clients for guide dog and white cane training. Hoskins was recruited to SOAR by Diane Henderson, who in addition to her work with SOAR serves on the board of directors of Leader Dogs for the Blind.

Hoskins, like others in the field, is well-suited for the work: she is outgoing, has plenty of patience, is empathetic, and isn’t afraid to mentor others—qualities which come in handy as a mother of two children, ages 3 and 5, and a five pound “Shorky,” a Shih Tzu and Yorkshire Terrier mix. Mila, the dog, grew up going to work with Hoskins, hanging around with the Leader Dogs, and thus believes she is the same size as her retriever, golden retriever, German shepherd, and Labrador/golden friends.

Leslie, the mom, spends her free time adoring (and chasing) her two children and husband, Brian. They live in Clarkston and often enjoying the many trails nearby, hanging out on the lake in the summer, tackling the omnipresent home improvement projects, entertaining family and friends, and reading…. most recently, “The Little Engine That Could.”

A Few Tips

For those experiencing or assisting someone with vision loss, Hoskins recommends Safe Without Sight: Crime Prevention and Self-Defense Strategies for People Who Are Blind.

She also urges everyone to:

• Wear sunglasses and protect your eyes.
• Continue to get your eyes checked and prescriptions updated
• Wear a hat because the brim gives a little added protection, especially if your head hits something…the hat will fell it before the head/eyes.