It is the 3 rd grader with low self esteem, the wife beater and victim of family violence, the dropout, the pregnant teenager, the unemployed mother, the man behind prison walls, the neglected child, the gang member, the drug dealer, the cancer patient, and the marooned family members lacking access to the health and human services a community can offer. Many individuals have a difficult time finding health and human services because they cannot read. They do not know how to look up services in the telephone book. They cannot read the United Way's list of social service agencies. They do not have access to information.
Literacy is many things.
It is power. It is a political act. It is freedom and it is a tool for discovering one's personal incarceration. It is a key to success. It is discovering God and salvation.