Optometrist Sees Rewards in Helping Others

The waiting room at the New Directions for Youth eye clinic is bursting with families on a sunny Wednesday morning. Parents fill out forms while their children pull toy trains around a track in a corner of the room.

Optometrist Barry Leonard examines a patient’s eyes in a small room nearby, explaining the process to a Pierce College student volunteer.

Leonard and Chester Katz--the optometrist who established the free eye clinic in Van Nuys more than a year ago--will see about 50 patients this morning.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, Leonard, 42, has done a lot of soul-searching lately.

“I love my work here because it gives me the chance to help people,” said Leonard. “It makes me feel like I’m part of my community. It’s very satisfying.”

Leonard says his satisfaction stems not only from his many community service projects, but also from the opportunity to work with his optometrist father, David Leonard, who opened his doors to Panorama City residents 41 years ago.

Althoug his Valley roots run deep, the younger Leonard’s eyes light up when he talks about the more than a dozen trips he has taken to Latin America with Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH), a nonprofit organization that delivers vision care to the needy around the world.

Leonard and a team of VOSH volunteers have treated more than 200,000 patients over 12 years and handed out thousands of pairs of used prescription glasses to the young and old in remote villages in Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador and other countries.

“Barry is probably one of the hardest-working individuals I ever met,” said David Krasnow, executive director and co-founder of VOSH/California. “Involvement is his middle name. He’s the kind of person who never says no. He’ll always make time.”

Leonard says the elated reactions of patients who can thread a needle or read for the first time are all the motivation he needs to return to villages where many families still read by candlelight.

“I feel like I’m helping them join society,” he said. “When they put the glasses on, their faces light up. It’s a very emotional experience. I was hooked from the first time I went.”

Leonard, who grew up in North Hollywood and earned a doctor of optometry degree from the Southern California College of Optometry, says his commitment to community service went “from zero to 60” following that first trip to Costa Rica.

Since then he has been active with the Jeopardy Foundation, a Los Angeles Police Department-sponsored organization that has established after-school centers for at-risk kids. He founded the Panorama City Graffiti Busters in 1988 and is an active member of the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce and Van Nuys Rotary club.

Leonard, who lives with his wife in Tarzana, has received numerous civic awards. When he’s not planning his next trip to Latin America, he can usually be found helping patients much closer to home.

“Barry stands out because he cares so much about the people who have so little,” said Anne Kelly, president and chief executive officer of New Directions for Youth, which offers academic, vocational and counseling services for at-risk and delinquent youth and their families. “In the time he’s been here, he’s made a significant difference in the lives of the children and families we serve.”

*

Personal Best is a weekly profile of an ordinary person who does extraordinary things. Please send suggestions on prospective candidates to Personal Best, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338. Or e-mail them to valley@latimes.com