For Texas’ program of blind merchants, the pandemic shrank opportunities, exposed income gaps

By Neelam Bohra, The Texas Tribune Jan. 19, 2024 “For Texas’ program of blind merchants, the pandemic shrank opportunities, exposed income gaps” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. For almost 40 years, Jerry House has stocked vending machines and staffed cafes across Texas’ government buildings as part of the Business Enterprises of Texas program, a decades-old initiative that helps legally blind people become food service entrepreneurs. But at the annual conference in November, the first one held in-person since before the pandemic, House said the program hit a new low: he could barely navigate the hotel. House, who is partially blind, couldn’t find straight sidewalks through the courtyard to access parts of the hotel. It was difficult to find food or water. And he was one of the lucky ones: his girlfriend was there to help. Others had attended alone. “You’ve got 88 blind people there. They know we need accommodations. They should be getting...