ABBOTSFORD – New Democrat MLAs Pam Alexis and Bob D’Eith say funding boost to community-based Indigenous, adult and family literacy programs will help people gain skills in reading, writing, math and digital literacy.

“Everyone should have access to learning to read in a safe and comfortable environment,” said Pam Alexis, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission. “The Community Adult Literacy Program is such a great resource and the Access2Learning program at Archway Community Services here in Abbotsford will open up opportunities and help people have more independence.”

In Abbotsford and Mission, this year’s funding will go to the Access2English program in Abbotsford led by Archway Community Services, as well as to Adult Literacy Programming to Mission Literacy in Motion.

“Mission Literacy in Motion does such great work here in our community and have been integral in helping families navigate the pandemic, especially when kids were home from school and they had to rely on at-home learning and entertainment,” said Bob D’Eith, MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission. “I’m proud we are providing funding to literacy programs across the province like this one.”

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.