A New Year’s Resolution
The Union County Violence Intervention Plan (VIP) was developed to make available a network of supports, opportunities and activities focused on best-practice strategies for a community committed to proactively changing the odds for young people and families in need.
Today's VIP Corner will look at the "Jobs and Targeted Education" focus area.
As we move into a new year, many people have made resolutions that improve their lives. Whom did you think about when making your resolution this year? Did you just think about yourself or did you think about others?
There are more than 286,000 adults in
Arkansas who lack basic reading skills. Probably someone you work with or know closely struggles to read or write or has limited English language skills. They may long to spare their children from the hardships that their struggles with literacy have forced them to face and just need encouragement from you to take that first step. It could be your resolution to step outside of your comfort zone and help stop the cycle of illiteracy by encouraging and assisting a friend or family member get the help they need.
Basic Facts about Literacy
According to the Department of Justice, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime is welding to reading failure."
Statistics back up this claim: 85% of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, and over 70% of inmates in America's prisons cannot read beyond a fourthgrade level proving that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime.
Literacy is learned and illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write. Illiteracy is directly linked to poverty and poverty is linked to many other negative outcomes in our communities.
Importance of Adult Literacy
Stopping the cycle of illiteracy improves family and community now and in the future.
Adults who are more literate are more likely to:
• Read to their children and/or grandchildren and help with homework to improve grades.
• Promote higher learning in their own family for generations to come, which results in on-time high school graduation and even pursuing secondary education.
• Be employed full time, receive a higher income and not be dependent on governmental assistance. High school dropouts, on average, earn $9,200 less per year than high school graduates, and about $1 million less over a lifetime than college graduates.
• Be healthier. Annual health care costs for lowliterate adults are four times higher than those with higher literacy skills.
• Not only survive, but thrive in their community.
The brighter future of families in Union County could start with you. Illiteracy can be proactively addressed by resources right here, so call the Literacy Council of Union County today at 870-8647081 to see how.
The VIP can be viewed at sharefoundation.com, or you can call Debbie Watts, SHARE Foundation VP of Community Impact, for more information at 870-881-9015, or follow VIPUnionCounty on Facebook.