A Role for Community Agencies

Community agencies work with people to ensure that they have the power and ability to lead independent lives, to do the things they want and need to do. Literacy is one of the tools people can use to gain more control over their lives. But for workers and volunteers in community agencies, the pressures of dealing with a mother's need for infant formula, a family's housing crisis, or an individual's legal problems, can mean that they miss the signs of low literacy skills in the people they serve.

People who have trouble reading and writing are often judged harshly for not being able to fill out forms or read pamphlets. They may be embarrassed by people who make a big deal out of their problem, or who talk about it in front of other people. They may not have received much support when they revealed their low literacy skills in the past. They may also fear that their inability to read and write well could affect their eligibility for your agency's services. So, to hide their inability to read and write well, they may put up defences or act angry when they feel embarrassed.

People who cannot read and write well may use excuses to avoid filling out forms your organization gives them. You may have noticed that some people:

• Say they “forgot their glasses,” or “have a sore arm,” or “don't have the time,” when asked to fill out a form;
• Ask if they can bring the form back “tomorrow?”
• Bring a friend in with them, to take care of any reading and writing that has to be done;
• Suddenly become angry and storm out the door when faced with paper work;
• Don't show up for appointments, even though they need your services and seem interested.
• Don't show up for appointments, even though they need your services and seem interested.

An individual's low literacy may be behind these actions. Your organization's literacy demands can put up walls between your services and some of the people who need and want to use them. Wordy posters in an organization's reception area, for example, can be a signal that people need to be able to read and write well to use your services. If that's not the message your organization wants to give people, you may want to use the ideas in this book to make your services more accessible to people who cannot read and write well.

When you do notice signs of low literacy in people you serve, you may want to let them know about literacy programs in your area. This book will also help you and the person who cannot read and write well to work together to deal with some of the barriers to learning.