If he lives in the United States see if your state has a coalition of the blind. If you contact them for services and make it clear you are not looking for financial support but help with activities of daily living they may quickly help you with many things including this. If he does need financial support that is fine but be aware that might put him on a waiting list whereas if he has adequate income from social security/pension/401k/etc that makes the whole process significantly easier (usually, this likely varies wildly by state tbf)
Advice in this thread will be helpful but a person who can come to his home on a semi regular basis to help continually train will be far more beneficial. Additionally they can assist with a broader range of tasks like caning, adaptive equipment for meal prep, braille instruction, etc.
I’m a commercial building systems engineering consultant and business owner, and have been visually impaired for >30 years (juvenile type of macular degeneration onset as an early teen). While I’m partially signed, I generally follow this space (though do not claim to be an expert).
+1 for this suggestion of starting by reaching out to your State if you’re in the US (or other government entity if outside) as a starting point for assistance. My state’s division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI) resources have been very helpful over the years. They provide adaptive tech kit for free (e.g., iPads, PCs, large screens) and software/instruction for those who need it).
The OP didn’t indicate whether their grandparent is retired (suspecting so?) but in that case, sometimes the State’s path is a little different—they put a huge effort into workforce development, and sometimes different efforts into adaptive tech & services for folks not intending to return to the workforce. In our state, there is an association for the blind that I believes handles more of those cases (but I don’t know for sure).
I’ll also give a +1 for everyone I know who is blind and visually impaired having an iPhone. It’s possible that platforms could be nearing parity now, but in the early 2010s there was just zero competition. I use iOS built in accessibility features every day and they have (not exaggerating) changed my life from an accessibility standpoint.
TL:DR - Yes go to your state, definitely good with an iPhone, built in accessibility features are amazing.
Advice in this thread will be helpful but a person who can come to his home on a semi regular basis to help continually train will be far more beneficial. Additionally they can assist with a broader range of tasks like caning, adaptive equipment for meal prep, braille instruction, etc.