Shrewsbury Repair Cafe produces world first to support those with sight loss

Repair Café begun in 2009 in The Netherlands and now numbers over 3600 repair cafes all over the world. Shrewsbury Repair Café has been welcoming members of the public to its monthly repair café since it started in 2017 and each month a growing team of dedicated and talented volunteer repairers gather to help repair everything from small electrical appliances to broken ornaments, from clothing to jewellery at its venue in Shrewsbury United Reformed Church.

Over recent months Shrewsbury Repair Café has undertaken a programme to make itself more accessible to those with hearing impairment and sight loss, from having name badges which are easier for people with visual impairment to read through to having a countertop loop system to assist communication between repairers and visitors with hearing impairment.

Liz Evans, Coordinator of Shrewsbury Repair Café, stated: “We know there has been a growth in the interest of and necessity in repairing broken or non-working items we have around our homes. However, with so many repair services disappearing from our communities and other repair services only accessed on the internet, we recognised that the service provided by the Shrewsbury Repair Café may be even more relevant to those with visual impairment or sight loss. However, our normal way of promoting and explaining what a repair café is involves posters, leaflets and videos and we know these are not easily accessible for those with sight loss”.

Simon Martin is a volunteer repairer for the Shrewsbury Repair Café and also volunteers with East Shropshire Talking Newspapers, so he combined both his roles to find a solution. Simon produced an audio description of the Shrewsbury Repair Café, based on recordings he took at one of its sessions, so that the purpose of a repair café was explained and also gave a taste of what to expect if they chose to come along to a repair café session. This audio article was aired on the Talking Newspapers for Shropshire and has been shared with sight loss groups throughout the county.

Having shared their work with Repair Café International in The Netherlands, it is believed that Shrewsbury Repair Café is the first repair café that has taken this innovative approach to ensure that those with sight loss and visual impairment can have all the necessary information about what a repair café is and how they can be supported by its services.

Having heard about Shrewsbury Repair Café at a recent talk given to the Sight Loss Opportunity Group, Lottie Clark made her first visit to a recent repair café with her guide dog Olive. Lottie said: "I had no idea that there was a repair café in Shrewsbury until their volunteers came along to my support group. They gave us a good idea of how the café operated, what to do and what to expect, and so I felt confident in turning up for the first time. I think the audio description is a great initiative which will help to promote and encourage use by visually impaired people."

Swantje Staar-Slogrove, manager of Sight Loss Shropshire, a registered charity that supports and assists people of all ages with visual impairment, welcomed the innovative work that Shrewsbury Repair Café has done. She said, “Losing your sight doesn’t come cheap. There is some fabulous, but often expensive equipment out there to assist visually impaired people with daily living, but when it breaks or just needs some TLC, it often ends up in drawers or the bin. Making the Shrewsbury Repair Café more accessible to people with sight loss will be a game changer for many.”

The audio description can be found on the Shrewsbury Repair Café Facebook page facebook.com/shrewsrepaircafe/

Shrewsbury Repair Café meets on the third Saturday of every month in the St. Nicholas Hall of Shrewsbury United Reformed Church.