During National Eye Exam Month, VSP Eyes of Hope is collaborating with SEE International to bring the VSP mobile clinic to county health centers in Santa Maria and Lompoc.

The mobile clinic will provide free exams and prescription glasses for some 100 community members without access to vision care.

The times and locations are:

• Aug. 20 — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Santa Maria Health Care Center, 2115 Centerpointe Pkwy., Bldg. B, Santa Maria.
• Aug. 21 – 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Lompoc Health Care Center, 301 N. R St., Lompoc.

To make an appointment, call 805-770-1376. Appointments are recommended, as walk-ins will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis, as space and availability allow.

According to reports, in California, nearly 1 in 10 adults avoided healthcare in the past year due to cost, making access to free vision care critical.

For people experiencing homelessness or living on low incomes, that barrier is reported to be even higher.

“Clear, healthy vision can benefit education, employment, quality of life, and overall health, but for too many it remains out of reach,” event organizers said.

In collaboration with SEE International and local eye doctors, VSP Eyes of Hope is helping to provide equitable access to eye care and eyewear to residents of Santa Maria and Lompoc.

SEE is a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit that provides medical, surgical and educational services to restore sight and make high-quality eye care more accessible.

Since 1974, SEE has served 5.2 million individuals and performed some 834,000 sight-restoring surgeries worldwide. For more, visit www.seeintl.org.

For some 20 years, the VSP Eyes of Hope mobile clinics have partnered with eye doctors and local organizations to increase equitable access to vision care in communities across the U.S.

In California, VSP Vision has invested more than $28.4 million through Eyes of Hope programs, providing eye exams and eyewear to more than 197,000 individuals.

Nationwide, some 4.5 million people have received free eye care and eyewear through Eyes of Hope mobile clinics and other programs.