Burnaby Neighbourhood House: 4460 Beresford Street, Burnaby, BC, V5H 0B8
Literacy Outreach Coordinator: 604-562-3447
literacynow@burnabynh.ca

Life Literacy

grandparents with their granddaughters standing by the shore


What is Life Literacy?

Life literacy is the willingness and ability keep learning at all stages of your life. It represents the skills you need to live fully, and all of the skills which you could acquire over your lifetime. Imagine what you could accomplish if you could do something new everyday.

Facts and Figures

  • 48% of adult Canadians have low literacy skills that negatively affects their ability to function in society. (ABC Life Literacy – Life Literacy Statistics)
  • More than 700,000 British Columbians have challenges with literacy, such as difficulty understanding newspapers, following instruction manuals, and reading health information. (Decoda Literacy – Literacy Matters Fact Sheet)

How Literacy Helps

Workplace, family and community are areas where better literacy skills can result in a more productive and successful life. Our workplaces are constantly changing, and literacy skills allow you to succeed in a changing environment. Literacy skills can boost your social skills so that you can improve your relationships. It can also help you understand what is going on in your community so that you can use changes to your benefit.

Literacy Types

Literacy is not just limited to reading. It also includes financial literacy, health literacy, civic literacy, and more. Adequate literacy means being able to understand, evaluate, and use written texts. It also means you can determine what you need to solve any problem. When you develop the ability to learn, you can use any information technology while protecting yourself from harmful information.

Fact Sheets

life literacy
life literacy

Resources

Here are some of the many resources and opportunities for adult literacy support in Burnaby: