Matt, a 38-year-old Burke resident who installs and refinishes hardwood floors, compensated for his inability to read so thoroughly that he managed to keep it hidden from his wife.
"It feels kind of like a prison," said Matt, who requested that his full name be kept confidential since some friends still don't know. Some years, Matt said he would tell his wife that he forgot to get her a birthday, holiday or Valentine's Day card. One Christmas, he recalled, he asked his sister to write down the words he wanted to tell his wife so he could copy them onto the card.
Matt, who attended McLean High School before beginning full-time work at his trade when he was 17, remembers the night his wife said to him, "I know your problem, you can't read."
"When you can't read for so many years, you cover it up," Matt said. "I kept everything trapped inside. You're always dodging."
MORE THAN 129,000 adults in Northern Virginia are functionally illiterate, according to the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, meaning they read on a fifth-grade level or below.
"I heard the statistic on the radio, by chance," said Mike Coogan, 33, of Fairfax, a volunteer with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia. "I remember I felt that I should be donating time, not just donating money."
Coogan and Matt were matched together approximately two years ago after Matt signed up to be tutored and Coogan took the 12-hour training class. They have met once a week for an hour and a half since.
Matt now picks up the sports page and can read a little about his favorite team, the Redskins. One of his long-term goals is to be able to write his wife a letter.
Matt said it takes "a year to really get going," and even though he expected it would take six or seven months to learn to read, he now knows it will still take a lot more effort.
The work with Coogan has "made a big difference," said Matt. "It's helped my confidence. … If it was up to me, I'd give [Mike] a big award and pay him like a teacher. He gives time to me, and that's what the world needs, more people like Mike."
Coogan calls Matt his friend. "It takes a lot of courage for a person who can't read to say they can't. They come up with very creative ways to compensate. It has nothing to do with intelligence."
THIS SATURDAY, at Richard Byrd Library in Springfield, the Literacy Council will train people to become basic literacy tutors. Last year, the organization helped 1,994 adults improve literacy skills. But more than 50 adults from Springfield and the Route 1 corridor who can't read are waiting to be matched with tutors; more than 130 people are waiting across the county.
"For some students, it's taken years to get to the point that they know the resource is available and are interested in making the commitment to improve their life," said Lisa Wade Raasch, of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia.
Juli Monroe, of Springfield, just started volunteering in March with a young adult with mental retardation, after she did a Yahoo search and found out about the Literacy Council.
"I've been a reader forever," said Monroe, a salesperson with Windows Plus. "I can't think of a better gift than to teach an adult to read."
In addition to helping her student with reading and writing skills that she hopes he will continue to use forever, Monroe has helped him learn to read a map and Metro schedule.
"I've seen progress already," said Monroe.
"WITHOUT BASIC LITERACY, I don't think people can advance in job situations or break the cycle of poverty," said Linda Hoffman, 35, of Burke.
Hoffman first started tutoring adults in basic literacy in Kentucky when she was a Vista Volunteer approximately a decade ago.
"I saw what an important issue it was that adults had low reading and math skills and how difficult it is to advance in the work place," she said. "A lot were on public assistance."
The woman Hoffman worked with started at a low reading level but had advanced to an eighth- or ninth-grade reading level by the time Hoffman moved. They still keep in touch through letter writing.
Almost as important as learning to read was her student’s developing confidence, Hoffman said. "You saw her kind of blossom."
APPROXIMATELY 30 PERCENT of area residents speak a language other than English in their home, according to the U.S. Census.
Hoffman now works as a volunteer with the Literacy Council's ESL program, which serves limited-English-speaking immigrants who often have little education in their first language.
"My heart goes out to people who are struggling in a foreign country," said Kathy Nebhut, 49, of Fairfax. Nebhut tutors a 29-year-old woman who fled from Somalia to Kenya and then to the United States.
"She and I have an incredible friendship. We hug when we see each other, we hug when we leave. We always start off [our session] with a chat," Nebhut said.
The woman she tutors is a clerk at a hotel who eventually wants to become a nurse. She and Nebhut meet twice a week for an hour and a half at a county library.
"The minute I called, she wanted to meet me that very weekend," Nebhut said. "She wouldn't dream of missing a tutoring session."
Nebhut said her student once asked her what the word "groovy" meant after watching an Austin Powers movie.
After explaining the meaning, Nebhut said, "I told her it's old, you don't want to say that."
"I dread the time that [she] doesn't need me," Nebhut said.