Our History

Sight Support Calderdale — formerly Halifax Society for the Blind (HSB).

Halifax Society for the Blind is one of Calderdale’s oldest charities and has been supporting people with sight loss since 1888. At this time the Society of Home Teach and Assistance was formed, and a teacher was appointed to visit people in their homes and teach them braille.

The early 1920s were a busy time for the Society: the name changed to Halifax Society for the Blind and a gift of £10,000 was left by the late J.W. Horsfall. This gift enabled the Society to buy the Crossley and Porter sanitorium and convert it into a home for the blind. This home was called “The John W Horsfall Home for the Blind” and Percy Horsfall became President.

In 1926 a premises at 13 Bull Green was acquired and used as a shop where hand knitting, rug making, and piano tuning took place. The shop stayed here until 1937 when a larger building at 14 Fountain Street was built.

By 1964 the Society had a very popular holiday home in Fleetwood. When this holiday home was sold in approx. 2004, the buildings on Clare Road were bought and this became the main office of the Society.

In June 2023, HSB moved to new town-centre premises at 7 Southgate, establishing our Sight Centre—an accessible, hands-on space offering impartial advice and guided demonstrations of vision aids and accessible technology. Visitors can explore magnifiers (handheld, stand and electronic), task lighting, daily-living and kitchen tools, accessible phones and audio players, talking clocks and watches, and leisure items; we also maintain a donation table with good value pre-owned equipment.

In September 2025, we rebranded from Halifax Society for the Blind (HSB) to Sight Support Calderdale, the same independent local charity with the same team, values and commitment, under a name that better reflects the sight loss community we support across the whole of Calderdale.

Mission Statement

Provide practical and emotional support to those affected by sight loss

Our Values

Collaboration - Working together to share knowledge, skills, ideas, and experience.

Empowering - Promoting confidence and independence, supporting individuals to reach their full potential.

Integrity - Build trust by displaying empathy, honesty and understanding.

Respect and Dignity - Ensuring all the people who use or work within our organisation are treated with respect and dignity and are given supportive, inclusive choices and are acknowledged as individuals in an equal and fair way.

Our Aims

Promote independence - through offering advice and guidance about the equipment and services available to support individual needs.“the advice I got about equipment available has made such a difference” - Muriel M.

Increase confidence - by supporting people along their sight loss journey, whether this is through learning new skills or providing a listening ear. “the whole experience has been amazing. I feel more confident and positive.” - Jackie S.

Reduce isolation - by providing members with the opportunity to socialise with peers through our groups and activities or our Friends on the Phone service. “you know you are among friends. It’s a good place to come.” - David H.

Educate and support - external organisations by increasing awareness of sight loss in the wider community.

Advocate for members - “I am really grateful to HSB for helping my voice be heard about the changes in the bus station” - Cathy.