Community Outreach

Because eye care is so important to everyone's well being, New England Eye is at the forefront of ensuring that all people in the New England Eye community have access to convenient and affordable eye and vision care.

Our community outreach features advanced eye and vision care services, along with other coordinated health services, designed to care for special populations including children, older adults, those with low vision, the homeless, and individuals who are either physically or mentally challenged.

The community collaborations program at New England Eye took flight in the 1970s thanks to the vision of Dr. Charles Mullen. Inspired by the belief that The New England College of Optometry faculty and students should reach out to underserved populations, Dr. Mullen set forth to develop relationships with health centers and veterans administration hospitals in the Boston area. Faculty and students began working with these organizations to provide screenings and comprehensive eye exams – services that many patients had never experienced before due to poor access to health care.

As success and enthusiasm for our eye care programs grew, so did New England Eye's network of community collaborations, which today comprise over 40 community sites throughout Massachusetts. Ranging from mobile programs at homeless shelters, senior centers to hospital programs and more traditional fee-based eye care centers, New England Eye provides services for the entire population as well as unparalleled training opportunities for students and residents from The New England College of Optometry.