Usa Reads

Adult literacy

City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

From our working in LA for 12 years, we see each day widespread and often hidden issue of functional illiteracy among young adults aged 18–25. Thousands of young people in the city struggle to read and write at a level that allows them to complete job applications, understand health information, or access higher education. Many have disengaged from traditional schooling or face systemic barriers—such as poverty, trauma, or learning differences—that were not addressed during their education.
In Los Angeles, in some low socioeconomic communities more than 50% of young people can't read or write. Due to their illiteracy, both the person and the economy suffer.
With the growth of digital literacy learning tools, a young people with some mentoring can quickly gain foundational literacy skills to equip them for work and life.
Through our project USA Reads, we seek to close the literacy gap in LA with young adults who can't read..

The LA2050 grant will support the launch of the USA Reads in the city of Los Angeles, a citywide program designed to serve Los Angeles residents aged 18–25 who struggle with basic reading skills. This initiative will provide free and personalized literacy mentoring support and getting them equipped with new AI literacy learning tools for their phone which as tailored for their literacy levels. We will provide ongoing support to guide them in their use of the digital literacy games, activities, books and resources to ensure their skills keep improving/
Participants will receive a customized digital literacy course on their phone they include one-on-one tutoring online, access to relevant reading materials, mobile learning tools, and optional group-based reading circles facilitated by trained mentors and community partners. The program will be delivered through a number of youth sports and community groups in underserved communities in LA.
USA Reads provides a relationship-first approach that encourages consistency over perfection. By integrating foundational literacy skills with topics that matter to participants—health, employment, creative expression, and everyday life—the initiative aims to help young adults not only improve their reading but also reconnect with opportunity.
With support from LA2050, this program will reach at least 300 young adults in its first year, generate learnings for wider implementation, and begin building a long-term solution.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will be home to more confident, literate, and empowered young adults—individuals who once felt excluded from education but now have the skills and self-belief to pursue jobs, higher education, and meaningful participation in their communities.

Improved literacy will have a ripple effect: it will increase access to employment, reduce reliance on social services, and strengthen families, as young adults become role models and reading mentors to younger siblings and peers. Civic engagement will grow as more young people are able to navigate systems, vote, advocate, and fully engage with society.
Los Angeles will also be recognized as a city that does not leave behind those who fall through the cracks of traditional education. Instead, it will lead the way in building a compassionate, inclusive model of adult learning—one that reflects the diversity, resilience, and potential of every young adult who struggles to read.