[Nfbv-announce] Metro Offers Tour For the Blind - NPR Piece

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Metro Offers Tour For The Blind
Matt Laslo
November 14, 2010 - The Metro system can be a dangerous place, especially for blind people. About fifty people gathered in Virginia for training on maneuvering through Metro stations. 
The majority of the group are students like 18-year-old Virginia resident Kinston Walker. He says the Metro tour offered sound advice. 
"When you use your cane, obviously you're using it to feel the texture of whatever so you know how to get around. So there's this part of the ground that feels like concrete. You really shouldn't go past that; if you do you'll fall six feet below and fall into the subway. God forbid you do, there were instructions about - scream as hard as you can and stay up against the wall so the train won't smash you and kill you," Kinston says. 
The group is also getting training on new technologies to assist them in learning, like software that reads e-mails and books. Tracy Soforenko is one of the organizers.
"We are providing students the opportunity to grow them into leaders. To do that we are having the students who are here present technology that they know well, that they use in the classroom, to present it to their peers," Sofrenko says. 
The students say the training is helpful, especially interacting with one another because many don't have blind peers back at home.