After its stately Victorian home was damaged by Hurricane Ike, the Literacy Center has made its home on the second floor of the headquarters of its sister ministry, CHRISTUS Our Daily Bread on Winnie St.
The work here is directed by two members of the Dominican Sisters of Houston, Sister Barbara Ann Collins O.P. (Order of Preachers), a former teacher, and Sister Julian Giglio, O.P., a former school principal.

At no charge to clients, these Sisters and their three volunteers at CHRISTUS Literacy Center not only help adults learn to read, but also to gain valuable social, life and job skills. The student population of the center numbers around 30. And, says Sister Barbara Ann, “it’s like the United Nations.”

The Sisters’ results attest to the quality of their program, which began in 2001. Program graduates have earned their Graduate Equivalent Degree (GED). At least one came to the center speaking no English and went on to serve as a substitute teacher in Galveston’s public schools.

The men and women of the CHRISTUS Literacy Center appreciate that the ability to read is a key to a wide world of possibilities in life. Unable to read, a person is locked out of educational, social and career possibilities, as well as the day-to-day joys of life in an English-speaking world.

Once literate, they feel more confident, enjoy greater independence and have access to a wider range of opportunities. They are better equipped as parents, too.

When U.S. residents know little or no English—that’s about 11 million of us, with another 30 million adults having “below basic” skills—they are constrained in innumerable ways. Literacy constitutes for them a crucial gateway to freedom, opportunity and health, and that gateway is closed.