The Basement

a forerunner in Guide Dog Education.

"Stop, you can’t come in here."

It’s something that people with vision impairment, and particularly those with Guide Dogs, hear regularly.

A person relying on a Guide Dog for their independent mobility can travel just about anywhere from

public buildings to places serving food and in transport from taxis to planes.

Our community education team spends many hours working with the transport and health industries as well

as local government to make sure that the community understands the rights of people who are blind or

have vision impairment. They also provide simple advice to help people understand their responsibilities clearly,

and to learn more about the causes of vision loss and feel more confi dent about interacting with people who

have a vision impairment.

So when the opportunity arose to work with The Basement, a venue in Sydney’s CBD, to train not only their

security guards but also their wait staff , Guide Dogs was more than happy to help.

"Many people don’t realise that we provide these services," said Dannielle Hogan, Guide Dogs’ Community

Education Officer. "Not only do we support people by providing training and mobility aids, we also work with

the general community to ensure that everyone knows what they need to do so that everyone gets a fair go.

The Basement is one of the first businesses in the entertainment industry to come to us so that they could

improve their services to the vision impaired community."

The Basement has been in existence for over 30 years. When it first opened its doors, it was in a single level

basement (hence the name) that was to become an alternative to the pub rock and cover bands playing in

registered clubs. The Basement still provides Sydneysiders today with a mix of Australian and overseas music.

Vikki Richards, from the Basement was a key driver for the training session.

"The Basement has provided great service to people who come here, and I wanted to be sure that everyone,

including people with a vision impairment, would have a terrific experience at our Club," she said.

When Dannielle arrived to start training, the first issue she had to face was the fact that the club was undergoing

refurbishment, "It’s the first time I’ve placed all our material on a billiard table!

"There were 35 people at the training session which was fantastic. We didn’t expect such a great turnout.

I told them all about the causes of vision impairment and showed them the different mobility aids that people use.

"We then had a brainstorm of the common issues that would face someone with vision impairment, like knowing

where the exits were, how to find a table, and of course working out which drink was which when ordering more
than one drink."

While the staff were a little nervous to start, they soon came up with great solutions, such as using different

glasses to help people differentiate drinks. Vikki noted, "the staff here found the session extremely useful. Because,

while everyone is different, there are ways we can help to make everyone’s visit enjoyable. We didn’t realise how

easy it would be until Dannielle came along. It’s been a great partnership."

Although people realise that dogs are restricted from certain public places, many don’t realise that Guide Dogs are

different.
There are both Commonwealth and State Acts that allow people to take their Guide Dogs into places that other dogs

would not be allowed. This includes restaurants, food halls, supermarkets and even nightclubs. If you see a person

with a Guide Dog or a cane being refused access because of their dog or their vision impairment, please ask them if

they need some support.

The main bar at the Basement.