As a writer it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I think literacy is important. Up until I dug into the subject as research for a project for a grad school class, I didn’t realize just HOW important.
You see, up until the third grade I couldn’t read. It wasn’t until my mom, an elementary teacher, did some research and really worked with me that it was determined I had dyslexia. It took me until the fifth grade before I was reading at the same level as my peers.
I’m telling you this because I’ve lived with the gut-eating embarrassment and worry that others might see through my evasions and tell I couldn’t read. I was just guessing, playing along, hoping they wouldn’t call me out.
The sad truth is there are 36 MILLION adults out there living with those same feelings today. People who aren’t stupid, who are perfectly capable of doing amazing things – but who never learned to read. Maybe it was because no one took the time. Maybe they came from a home with parents who couldn’t read. Or maybe, like me, they had a learning disability, but unlike me, no one noticed or did anything about it. The reality is they can learn to read.
And when they do…their world will change. So will yours. How?
Students and teacher in classroom
Right now low literacy is costing our economy $225 BILLION dollars a year in lost productivity in the workforce, crime and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment according to the National Council for Adult Learning. It’s also costing us up to $238 BILLION dollars a year in health care costs linked to low literacy skills according to the American Journal of Public Health. In the future it could cost us as much at $1.6 to $3.6 TRILLION dollars.
A staggering 43% of low literacy skill Americans live in poverty. And it’s no wonder. If you can’t read, it’s damn near impossible to fill out a job application or get a driver’s license unless the computer reads it all to you. Those who can get jobs often fill low skill-low wage positions that aren’t enough to support a family even if they work two or three of them.
Now imagine we eliminate that barrier. We give them a tool that has life-long benefits and lifts them out of poverty. One that even helps their children. They begin to be able to contribute in their communities. That, my friends, is the power of literacy. If each one of us who has reading skills taught just one other adult to read each year, we could change the tide. We could make a significant difference. 
Coming up on Sept. 8, 2017 is International Literacy Day. Join together with people from around the world to raise awareness for this cause and fight for funding. Better yet, become a literacy coach now. ProLiteracy International can direct you to services and locations across the globe. You can make a difference. Volunteer now.
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