One of five adults in the United States can’t read above a third-grade level.

“We’ve been working with those numbers for five years,” said Tahlia Hope, executive director of Literacy Volunteers-Androscoggin. “It could be getting better.”

Yes. Or worse. In Lewiston, according to Hope, the adult illiteracy rate is 22 percent.

There’s nothing sexy about the issue. No obvious scapegoat or solution for a documentarian to sink his creative teeth into. The only fix is sharing the gift.

“People think you need to have a background in teaching to be good at this. We have many retired teachers,” Hope said, “but you don’t have to be a teacher.”

Hope invites prospective tutors to an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Great Falls School in Auburn.

Demand has never been higher. Of the thousands of L-A residents needing the service, hundreds may turn to Literacy Volunteers in a normal year.

Currently, there are only 96 active reading instructors.

“You would be matched up with a student almost immediately. There is quite a waiting list,” Hope said.

Literacy doesn’t rank with the life-and-death issues of our time. It’s out of sight, out of mind, right?

Well, in the United States, 21 to 23 percent of adults are functionally illiterate, meaning that reading a newspaper, looking over a lease or completing a job application is pure fantasy.

Nation’s Business magazine reports that an estimated 15 million adults holding jobs in the United States are functionally illiterate. It’s believed that 43 percent of illiterate adults live below poverty level.

You got it. It’s our problem, too.

“The bottom line is that if a parent is able to read, they are more likely to read to their child and participate in their child’s education,” Hope said. “Those kids have a much better chance of success.”

Just ask the previous generation. Then, in Lewiston’s blue-collar culture, reading was considered more luxury than necessity.

Able-bodied students of Franco-American descent became frustrated by lectures and school activities conducted exclusively in their second language.

“It was tradition for people in our area who might not have been comfortable in a traditional classroom setting to drop out of school and get a job in the mill,” Hope said. “I’ve had people tell me that they found school tough, but they knew they were hard workers. And for a long time, they were OK.”

Today, forced to reinvent themselves in a global economy, they feel adrift in a school or adult education environment.

Literacy Volunteers takes a one-on-one approach. Reading tutors attend 17 hours of training before they are matched with a student.

Another program called Conversation Partners requires less training, and the commitment of 60 to 90 minutes per week remains the same. Those volunteers meet residents in the community and help them practice speaking English.

The basic requirement for tutors is social grace.

“We’re looking for people who are patient, respectful and caring,” Hope said. “It takes a lot of patience and creativity. It takes longer for an adult to learn than a child.”

Surely you’ve figured out the reason for the shortage of capable tutors. It’s volunteer work, and it requires at least two full Saturdays of training to get started.

Just call Hope at 753-1772 or attend the meeting and ask about the rewards. Then decide.

“We’ve seen people coming out of our program go on to college,” she said. “But just for somebody who is a grandfather reading to his grandchild for the first time or being able to vote for the first time at 50, reading is a miracle.”

Kalle Oakes is staff columnist. He may be reached by e-mail at koakes@sunjournal.com.