Out of the 3.9 million adults in New York State who are functionally illiterate, approximately 25,000 of those adults live in Ulster County. This year, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger and ULA proclaimed the week of September 16 to 21 to be Ulster County Adult literacy week, raising awareness on the unseen issue. “When people think about literacy, they think about it being a problem that their grandparents' generation had and it's not as prevalent, but In fact, it still is,” says Lenard.
On October 21, ULA is co-sponsoring the Woodstock BookFest story slam, a competition of local storytellers.
On September 21, nine bookstores in Ulster County including Inquiring Minds in Saugerties and New Paltz, OUR Bookshop in Saugerties, Golden Notebook and Mirabai in Woodstock, and Rough Draft Bar & Books and Half Moon Books in Kingston donated 10 percent of funds to ULA, supporting the tutoring programs.
ULA, an entirely volunteer-run association, supports any adult who reads below a fifth grade reading level. The tutors help around 400 learners a year, many of whom are in correctional facilities or have recently immigrated.
Lenard says one memorable story at ULA was a learner who was new to English but improved over several years. “She went on and got her GED, and then she went on and got a CNA license to do home health care, and she became a homeowner, and then she just opened up her own business,” Lenard says.
According to Lenard, literacy is an underrepresented issue simply because of the communities that it reaches. “It's still a bit of an invisible population and if somebody is struggling with reading and writing in our very literacy rich environment, it's hard for that to get known. How do you inform people that you struggle with literacy when most people are getting their information through literacy?” she asks.
One of the biggest challenges ULA has is its methods of community outreach. The association uses everything from social media to collaborating with local libraries to spread the word about their services. ULA connects with some of the biggest supporters through the libraries. Specifically, it's often retired teachers who volunteer as tutors. “Our local libraries are our greatest champions. We all provide literacy services, so we often get volunteers who work through the libraries,” Lenard says.
Oftentimes, learners at ULA have undocumented learning disabilities, went through underserved school districts, or have a generational history of illiteracy. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, children of functionally illiterate adults are 72 percent more likely to struggle with literacy. “Not feeling empowered or not not knowing how to advocate for your child is just heartbreaking. You see your child having the same struggles, and you can't crack into the system to know how to help your child. That has to be one of the hardest things,” Lenard says. “It's an institutional failing, it's a societal failing. It's an issue of equity and social justice failing. It's not an issue of personal failure.”
“We have adults who've come into our program, who weren't able to read their name or write their name, who are now productive readers and writers,” Lenard says.
ULA attempts to break the shame around literacy. “When people come to our door, it's taken them years to get there, and we have to be ready to treat them with gratitude and respect and appreciation, showing us what heroes they are,” Lenard says. “We get to witness people crossing a seemingly impenetrable barrier every single day, and it's incredibly powerful to see.”