PEOPLE

Students: Stories of Triumph

Meet Robbie Barnes


Like Bill Cosby said, I started out as a child. I was born and raised in Marina, California, near the Monterey Bay. After my freshman year of high school I went to the California School for the Blind and stayed there for 5 years. While I was there, I heard about the Hatlen Center and it instantly clicked with me. I knew I wanted to go there because I really want to be independent and do as much as I can on my own. I moved into my apartment at The Hatlen Center in July of 2009. At first it was kind of scary and intimidating and a little overwhelming just knowing I was on my own and I didn’t have people to tell me what to do, where to do it, and how to do it. One thing that really helped, though, is that my roommate and I just clicked right away. I know he’ll be a lifelong friend. And as the months went by, everything just came together like a puzzle, and now everything just comes naturally.

Now if I feel something dirty, I just clean it up. I know I have to make sure my bills are paid on time, so I do that. I learned how to pay most of my bills by phone. I’m getting better all the time with my tech skills, like typing and using email. While I was at The Hatlen Center, I had an internship at the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind working with visually impaired elementary kids and some older people doing arts and crafts, baking, and having play days with the kids. That really opened a door and showed me what I want to do. I am moving back with my parents, but I’m on a wait list to get an apartment in the same building where my family lives in Monterey, and I plan to enroll at Monterey Peninsula College and study child development.

The Hatlen Center is a great program and it was a great experience for me.