CHILLIWACK – NDP MLA Dan Coulter says funding boost to community-based Indigenous, adult and family literacy programs will help people gain skills in reading, writing, math and digital literacy.

“Literacy can open many doors and can empower people in their personal, family and work lives,” said Dan Coulter, MLA for Chilliwack. “This funding going to Pathways to Education and the Volunteers Tutor Program will help adults overcome barriers and make their lives easier.”

In Chilliwack, the organizations receiving funding through this grant program are the Pathways to Education Program through Chilliwack Community Services, and the Volunteer Tutor Program through the Chilliwack Learning Society.

The New Democrat government is investing $2.9 million in the Community Adult Literacy Program which includes a one-time investment for 2021-22. This support will fund 97 programs, delivered by 66 organizations in 128 communities throughout the province.

Community based Indigenous, adult and family literacy programs are provided free of charge and delivered by community organizations, Indigenous-led organizations, and public-post secondary institutions. Literacy programming typically includes one-on-one tutoring and small-group instruction which supports all levels of literacy. In 2020, many programs shifted to online service delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.