[NFBMT] Sad News

[BRUCE&JOY BRESLAUER]

Nice article about Zach at CCB in 2017.  Joy

"IT'S SO . HUMBLING. IT REALLY  NO PUN INTENDED  OPENED MY EYES TO HOW 
DIFFICULT AND SERIOUS BLINDNESS IS."

Photos by Chancey Bush | The Courier October 5, 2017
Photo Captions:
Harshbarger puts on his running shoes before heading out to 24 Hour Fitness to 
work out in Englewood.

Zach Harshbarger uses his support cane to exit a bus on his way to the Colorado 
Center for the Blind in Littleton.

? ZACH HARSHBARGER, A 27-YEAR-OLD MISSOULA, MONT., NATIVE WHO LOST HIS VISION 
IN AN APRIL 2016 FIREARMS ACCIDENT

A fresh start
Colorado Center for the Blind teaches students independence

Top: Zach Harshbarger, 27, makes chocolate chip cookie dough during home 
management class at the Colorado Center for the Blind.

Above: Harshbarger uses his support cane to walk from a bus station.   e 
Missoula, Mont., native lost his sight a year ago from a firearms accident and 
is relearning how to live his life blind at the Littleton-based center.

It is a crisp September morning, and Zach Harshbarger steps out of his 
Littleton apartment and into the morning sun. He cannot see the sun's glow, but 
he feels its warmth on his face and finds comfort in knowing its rays are 
pointing him east. With a white cane in hand, Harshbarger makes his way to the 
bus stop, where he is greeted by a group of his classmates. Most have canes; 
some have dogs; but none can see. All those at the bus stop are students in the 
independence training program at the Colorado Center for the Blind in 
Littleton.

The program, designed for blind adults age 18 or older, trains participants to 
build the skills they need to find jobs, be independent and build confidence. 
In the program, which typically takes six to nine months to complete, students 
live at the McGeorge Mountain Terrace apartments on South Lowell Boulevard. 
They take Braille, home management, cane travel and technology classes, as well 
as challenge recreation, wood shop and philosophy.

"We really do believe blind people can learn skills to the point that blindness 
can really just be more of a nuisance than any kind of a handicap as most 
people think of it in the public," said Dan Burke, public relations specialist 
at the center. "But when people come, they may not feel that way . because we 
all have the same notions in our society that blindness typically means a loss 
of capacity, even helplessness.   at life as we know it is over," he added. "In 
some ways, that may be true, but it's also the start of something new."

'The start of something new'
For Harshbarger, that certainly was the case.   The 27-year-old Missoula, 
Mont., native could see for most of his life but lost his vision in April 2016 
in a firearms accident. The accident caused a traumatic brain injury, and 
Harshbarger lost his vision, sense of smell and 80 percent of hearing in one 
ear.

It's not always easy for him to explain what the independence training program 
means to him. "It's helped me grow in a huge way - just confidence, really. I 
mean, that's what the whole program stands for," Harshbarger said. "It seems 
all kinds of cliché, but it really is. I can't tell you how much this program 
has affected my life in a positive way. When I go home, Missoula's going to be 
a whole different place for me now."

As someone who once could see, it has been a challenge for Harshbarger to 
adjust to some of the changes in his life. He can recall the frustrations of a 
snowboarding trip taken by the center last spring. "It was fun . but I just 
couldn't get over the fact that I couldn't do it how I used to," he said. "I 
couldn't just point down the hill and go."

Making his way downtown
Aside from providing a confidence boost, the Colorado Center for the Blind 
spends a large chunk of its time teaching students how to travel independently. 
Achieving success in this arena requires a lot of research and knowledge of the 
area's public transportation and address system.

After learning how to properly use a cane, Harshbarger began to hit the streets 
of downtown Littleton with his travel partner, Jedediah Holcomb, and his 
instructor, Daniel Belding, who also graduated from the center. Independent 
travel can be intimidating for a person who cannot see, but Belding hopes his 
travel class will help change that.

"A lot of it is building confidence, the ability to actually travel around and 
go wherever they want to go," Belding said.

Students learn the public transportation system and various non-visual 
techniques for figuring out traffic patterns, deciphering direction and 
determining types of intersections. Harshbarger and Holcomb walk down the 
sidewalk, listening to the whoosh of traffic zooming by and taking turns 
leading the way. When they hit a road, they stop, wait, listen and make a 
decision based on what they've learned.

To graduate from the program, a student must complete a series of "drops" where 
they are dropped off at a location and have to find their way back to the 
center without asking more than one question. They also must complete an 
activity called the "monster route," where they map out four locations they 
have never been to in four separate cities in the Denver-metro area and make it 
to each. "You have to get there with public transportation and your feet," 
Burke said. This hands-on training is vital for students at the center. Most 
days, they're out and about practicing with their canes and reinforcing their 
sense of direction.

Harshbarger remembers the panic he felt upon realizing he was lost the first 
time he arrived at the center. "It's so . humbling," he said. "It really - no 
pun intended - opened my eyes to how difficult and serious blindness is." 
Eventually, though, he learned to pause, take a deep breath and think about the 
skills he's been taught in his time at the center. He asks himself: Which way 
is the sun pointing? Can I hear anything? And now, he considers his cane travel 
class one of the most valuable. "It just opens up the world to me," Harshbarger 
said. "Before I was so dependent on a ride or a guide, so now I can go places 
and do things by myself and not feel like it's so difficult or challenging."

The next step
Harshbarger plans to graduate in November, and he's excited about the new 
possibilities made available to him by his training at the Colorado Center for 
the Blind. He plans to return to Montana, where he will work, go back to school 
and spend time mastering an unfamiliar address system. He knows Missoula like 
the back of his hand but never utilized its buses when he could see. "I'm going 
to have the ability and the confidence and the skills to get on a bus, go 
anywhere I want in town, learn the address system," he said. "I'm just excited 
to apply what I've learned here to where I'm from. "And when it comes down to 
it, that's what the independence training program is all about.

"People do leave here with the ability to go places and to do things, to want 
to shoot for something more in their life than being dependent," Burke said.

Contact reporter Deborah Swearingen at dswearingen at evergreenco.com or 
303-350-1042.

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMT <nfbmt-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of president--- via NFBMT
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2021 4:27 PM
To: 'NFB of Montana Discussion List' <nfbmt at nfbnet.org>
Cc: president at nfbofmt.org
Subject: [NFBMT] Sad News

Robert Jaquiss told me today about the death of Zach Harshbarger of Missoula. 
Below is the only obituary I could find.

I knew Zach for only a short time, but I enjoyed his company very much.  He 
participated in our state and national conventions as well as our Treasure 
State Chapter.  Zach asked a lot of very good questions, and he did a lot to 
build our movement with a good deal of good humor and positive contributions. 
I am very sad about this news, and we will all miss Zach.
Rest in peace, my friend.

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/20015547/Zachary-Glen-Zach-Harshba
rger/Missoula/Montana/Sunset-Cemetery-Funeral-Home-and-Crematory

Zachary Glen "Zach" Harshbarger Obituary BROUGHT TO YOU BY SUNSET CEMETERY 
FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY Zachary Glen "Zach" Harshbarger Missoula, Montana 
March 16, 1990 - February 14, 2021

Obituary
MISSOULA ~ Zachary Glen "Zach" Harshbarger, 30, of Missoula, passed away 
Sunday, February 14, 2021 at his home.

Arrangements are under the care of Sunset Funeral Home in Missoula.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Zachary Glen "Zach" 
Harshbarger please visit our Tribute Store.

Jim Marks
President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana president at nfbofmt.org
(406) 438-1421



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