Welcome to the home of the
Houston Area Visually Impaired Network (HAVIN).
HAVIN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization comprised of various volunteer groups and organizations from across Houston that serve the information, resource, and support needs of the blind and visually impaired. Our vision is to educate, provide peer support, and unify the blind and visually impaired community in the Greater Houston area.
Our mission is to provide training, education, workshops, seminars, and mentorship to the blind and visually impaired Community, providing skills and resources to help individuals live full and independent lives.
Because we are blind and visually impaired ourselves, we understand how large in area Houston is and the challenges this poses to the many people from across our great city who are also blind and visually impaired. Our goal when starting HAVIN was to try to make it a little smaller for us, at least once a year, for those of us who are blind and visually impaired. To do this, we bring together the various support groups and nonprofit organizations that serve the blind and visually impaired community and make up HAVIN to host at least one event a year, the annual Insight Expo. While its not practical to come to each of our group’s individual meetings, it is possible for us to come together for that one day a year and bring unity to our community.
That is how we started, but, we have grown to do so much more than that today. Read below for the latest news and information about HAVIN. There are also links to our “About Us” page above, and “Our Groups,” if you want to find out about our history, or to contact one of the groups that comprise HAVIN.
Make a Donation to HAVIN
Even though we are a dedicated group of volunteers working collectively to serve our community, we still have expenses and rely on the generosity of donors to help us meet our financial obligations. If you would like to make a tax-exempt donation to support the work of HAVIN, know that it is much appreciated.
Secure donations can be made through Square using a debit or credit card at this link:
However, if Zelle, Paypal, or the Cash app are your preferred methods of donating, we also have accounts set up on each of those platforms to receive payments.
For Zelle and Paypal, send donations to
for the Cash app, our Cashtag is $HAVINTX
2024 HAVIN Insight Expo
The 2024 HAVIN Insight Expo was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024. We had a fantastic turnout with the day full of information and resources being shared.
Our theme was “Knowledge, Empowerment, and You…You are the KEY!”
Our keynote speaker was Moaz Khan, the president and founder of Vision Without Barriers.
If you missed this year’s Insight Expo or would like to review any of the event, here is the recording on our YouTube channel.
The HAVIN board is proud of the day’s events and are glad that we could host another event to bring unity to the community. We appreciate our sponsor,
the University of Houston College of Optometry.
and once again thank our platinum level sponsor,
We appreciate the positive and impacting presentations, and thank all of our valued presenters for their time, preparation and effort.
The Latest HAVIN Zoom Workshop
Did you know that January 4 was the birthday of Louis Braille, the developer of the Braille writing system? In recognition of this, our latest HAVIN Zoom workshop was focused on Braille and Braille-related items available through the Texas State Library and the Talking Book Program (TBP). HAVIN was joined by our longtime HAVIN friend Dina Abramson from the Texas State Library. Dina discussed hard copy braille, BARD, and their latest offering, the Zoomax reader. She also discussed a variety of Braille fact sheets that you can request from the library. There is a free UEB fact sheet that can be distributed to anyone who requests one –even if you are not a TBP patron.
This workshop was held on Saturday, January 27, 2024. If you missed it, you can watch it on our YouTube channel.
Latest News from HAVIN
HAVIN has grown once again! That’s right, HAVIN is now comprised of 11 groups and organizations that serve the Houston blindness and visually impaired community. Please join us as we welcome The Lighthouse of Houston and VIEOL Visually Impaired Equality Of Life to our board. We are excited to have them join us and look forward at working with our new colleagues.
HAVIN now has office hours at the MMSC
Our organization continues to expand the ways we can best serve our community. The latest way we are doing this is by having a physical office space.
HAVIN is now the official occupant of office #180 at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center at 1475 W. Gray Street.
We have set office hours each Friday, from 11:00 – 3:00 PM. Walk-ins are welcome, but it would help if you schedule an appointment. If you want to schedule an appointment, email us at havin@havintx.org
HAVIN has a dedicated phone number. Contact us at (713) 570-6968.
Follow us on Social media – We’re on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @HAVINTX
Or through your local group or organization email list.
Recognizing our sponsors and supporters
We appreciate everybody who has donated to support HAVIN. In just the past year alone, there has been an abundant number of charitable donations to HAVIN, and we want you all to know how grateful we are for these. This includes several individuals, as well as businesses. If you are one of the many individuals who have donated to HAVIN, thank you.
We would like to acknowledge the official sponsor of our annual Insight Expo,
The University of Houston College of Optometry
who have been part of HAVIN since our launch and have graciously hosted all of our Insight Expos.
Additionally, we would like to thank the following sponsors for helping us through charitable grants.
Houston Delta Gamma Foundation
WalMart Local Community Grants Team and WalMart Facility # 3579 in Kingwood
And, finally, HAVIN would like to say thank you to the following businesses for supporting us as we have delivered our programming and as we have expanded our operations and service.
Hear how we began
If you would like to learn more and hear our president telling more about the formation of HAVIN, check out this interview with Chelsea Nguyen at Sight Into Sound studios.
Follow HAVIN on Social Media
We are on Twitter and Instagram: @HAVINTX
Also be sure to follow us on Facebook: (20+) Houston Area Visually Impaired Network – HAVIN | Facebook