Metropolitan Washington Ear

The mission of MWE is to ‘bring the printed word to the print disabled.” MWE fulfills that mission through its service to over 5,400 blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled persons who cannot effectively read print materials throughout the metropolitan Washington region through its specially trained volunteer base of nearly 300 readers. Our listeners come from all socio-economic levels and all across the metropolitan Washington region and include individuals who reside in some of the least affluent neighborhoods in the Washington region. Many MWE listeners are elderly and live in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities where independence and equal access are critical. Others are employed and rely on MWE for information necessary to their employment as well as their everyday lives. MWE listeners are a true cross-section of our population: homemakers, workers, students, retired persons, individuals in nursing homes and institutions, recovering patients in hospital who can't hold newspapers or books.in short, anyone with difficulty reading or seeing.