43 million adults in the U. S. are unable to read, write and do basic math above a third-grade level, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Low literacy is linked to more than $106 billion in health care costs. Workers who have less than a high school diploma make three times less income than those with the highest level of education. 75% of incarcerated individuals did not complete high school.
The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy (PIAAC) examined the United States and 23 other industrialized countries and found the U.S. mean literacy score was below the international average, ranking 16th out of 24 nations. In Florida, 24% of adults are at or below Level 1, the lowest level in literacy, with Manatee County at 20% and Sarasota County at 14%.
So is anyone doing anything about this alarming set of facts? Several area organizations are working hard to help adults who want to improve their reading, writing, and basic math skills: Manatee Literacy Council, Literacy Council of Sarasota, and Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County. They train volunteers to tutor those adults and they offer one-to-one and small group classes in Manatee and Sarasota Counties at little or no cost to the learners. Sessions are offered both face-to-face and online.
September is Literacy Awareness Month and these three organizations want you to know what individuals can do to help address the literacy crisis. Every day this month there will be special features on their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds plus on their webpages: manatee-literacy.org; sarasotaliteracy.org; and literacychangeslives.org
Adults can volunteer as tutors or in other roles; anyone can spread the word to others, and people can donate to support this important work. Information about how you can help change lives through literacy can be found on the above websites or contact Manatee Literacy Council at 941-746-8197, Literacy Council of Sarasota at 941-955-0421, or Literacy Volunteers of South Sarasota County at 941-861-1352 (Venice); 941-861-1320 (North Port).
