CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Reading is essential, and literacy is in focus at one California program helping adults learn how to read.

Project Second Chance, sponsored by the Contra Costa County Libraries in California, has volunteer tutors who teach basic reading, writing and spelling to anyone 16 years or older.

According to data from the Program International Assessment of Adult Competencies, four in five U.S. adults have English literacy skills sufficient to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information.

Issues surrounding adult literacy have accelerated because people were all apart over the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most of the students that we teach have English as a second language. They’re immigrants. The other part of our program is for dyslexic students, and many of them go through school not ever learning how to read because teachers don’t know how to teach them. So it’s wonderful to have them come to our program and watch them learn,” said Judi Karcher, a Project Second Chance tutor.

Project Second Chance offers remote tutoring opportunities due to the pandemic and is currently accepting new students; however, it’s in need of more tutors.

“We’d love to have lots of tutors, anybody who was interested, you don’t have to have training. You don’t have to be a college graduate,” Karcher explained. “There’s a training program that teaches you how to use the programs that we use and get yourself set.”

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Project Second Chance volunteer, call the Contra Costa County Libraries at (925) 691-3960 or email psc@library.cccounty.us.

“It’s wonderful to be part of this program because you see people who really can’t read, grow, and their own self-esteem because they can do, you know, what they like,” Karcher said.

Watch the full interview in the media player above.