Our Story
We know the impact a pair of glasses can have...
Our story starts almost 50 years ago when an 8-year-old immigrant girl from Iran was fit for her first pair of glasses. Navigating school in the United States was overwhelmingly difficult for Dr. Mojgan Besharat. As a non-native English speaker, she practiced daily to comprehend a brand new language all while her sight was impaired. Like kids across the world, Dr. Besharat reckoned with the reality that poor access to effective eye care makes education - and ultimately self-determination - profoundly challenging.
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Dr. Besharat's first pair of glasses shifted her life and her relationship with education, motivating her to pursue optometry and work in private practice for over two decades. But, the upheavals of 2020 ignited her desire to spread the gift of sight even further. Eye care is frequently inaccessible to marginalized communities because the insurance industry has categorized it as nonessential or merely 'preventative.' Immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ folks, and children from low-income backgrounds are disproportionately sidelined. When access to healthcare is minimal, members from these communities face greater challenges navigating daily life, pursuing new paths, and breaking free from the cycle of poverty.
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Rooted in grassroots organizing, we are volunteers and medical professionals that provide free and accessible eye care in order to remedy the wrongs of this system - to provide empowerment through the gift of sight. Since our inception, we've provided over 1000 North Carolinians with comprehensive eye care, including free prescription glasses through our partnership with the Essilor Vision Foundation.
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Together, we can build a collective vision for our future, one pair of glasses at a time.
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In Her Vision sees a world where access to eye care is a basic human right and is readily available to all individuals, regardless of race, class, gender, or circumstance.
Our Mission
In Her Vision is dedicated to providing accessible and comprehensive eye care to underserved communities, with a particular focus on women, children, LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as refugee and immigrant communities. We strive to empower historically underrepresented communities by improving their ocular health, educating them on the impact of their health on their vision, and providing free glasses for those in need. We know the gift of sight opens doors to a world filled with endless possibilities and boundless potential.
Our Values
Equity | Accessibility | Empowerment
We believe in the basic human right to access eye care and healthcare. Our commitment to providing accessible and comprehensive eye care services is driven by our belief that vision health is essential to overall health and well-being. We strive to empower those who are historically underrepresented by providing the freedom to make informed choices about their lives. We are committed to social and economic justice, and we believe that access to quality eye care is a path towards building a better future for us all.