The statistics on literacy, both nationally and on Long Island, are deeply disturbing to me as a member of Congress and as a mother. I've named August Literacy Awareness Month, to help find solutions to the daunting, and often hidden, problem.

According to Literacy Volunteers of America - Nassau County (LVA-NC), one in four Americans can't read, write or speak English well enough to make his or her way in our society. Reports from the National Institute for Literacy are even more telling, indicating that in some communities of Nassau County, 40 percent of adults fall into the lowest literacy level. These people have difficulty completing simple forms, reading a map or following the instructions on a medicine bottle.

Such individuals - indeed, our neighbors - face lonely, frustrating lives, relegated to the lowest paying jobs, if any job. When parents can't read well, it is likely their children won't either.

There is no doubt that literacy affects each and every one of us. LVA-NC documents show that:

€ Limited literacy skills cost business and taxpayers $20 billion in lost wages, profits and productivity annually;

€ 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies underwrite remedial employee training in basic skills at an annual cost of $300 million;

€ The military spends $70 billion on basic remedial skills for recruits.

LVA-NC needs volunteers to work as tutors. They help about 1,000 students each year, but more than 400 students are waiting right now here in Nassau County. Volunteers can choose to help native English speakers who read below the sixth-grade level, or to work with students whose native language isn't English. Many tutors say volunteering in this program is one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives.

LVA-NC Tutor Training Workshops start soon here in our community. English for Speakers of Other Languages starts Sept. 21 in Baldwin and Oct. 13 in Hempstead; and Basic Literacy starts Oct. 1 in Franklin Square and Wantagh. Please call them for more information, 486-2789.